Together we question
Prep School
Our Prep School
Our Prep school education is more than just preparing your child for their time at senior school. It is a time for challenge, excitement and fun. It is a period of discovery, where your child will determine who they want to be while they are cared for in a safe and secure environment. We are an independent co-educational day and boarding school for children aged 8-13. We’re located in 175 acres of stunning grounds within the South Downs National Park in Liphook, and welcome families from across Hampshire, West Sussex and Surrey.
Prep school is, of course, a time of assessment and exams. This cannot be avoided. However, our exceptional teachers will carefully manage this time. They will ensure your child doesn’t simply focus on this part of their educational journey. It’s important that we work together to ensure that their love of learning remains and their carefully nurtured flame is not extinguished.
The process of self-discovery that your child will go through will also lead them to important points such as senior school applications. Our highly-experienced Senior Leadership Team will guide you through this journey. A Highfield and Brookham education gifts you exceptional choice as we feed more than 30 of the top day and boarding senior schools in the country. This means we can help your child find the right school for them. We have made the progressive decision to move away from the full Common Entrance syllabus but remain with Common Entrance in the core subjects. This has allowed us to create a bespoke curriculum that focuses on the essential skills that we know senior schools and future employers are seeking in young adults. Our promise to you is that your child will leave Year 8 as an adaptable, resilient and independent young person ready for the world ahead.
An excellent and very broad educational experience, combined with first-class pastoral care, great facilities in a wonderfully inspiring location.
Lessons
Our Prep school timetable is a one-week timetable consisting of eight 45-minute lessons a day. To maximise your child’s learning time the timetable has been curated to ensure they move around our specialist facilities in a logical order meaning precious time is spent in lessons rather than moving from one to the next.
To help your child develop the ability to self-critique in a constructive manner they will attend a weekly study skills lesson. Your child will have the opportunity to carry out this new-found skill by reflecting and commenting on their end-of-term progress reports. We provide many real-life opportunities like this for your child to put all of their knowledge and skills into practice. This helps to consolidate their learning as well as give meaning and context to their education.
Our specialist subject teachers in drama, music, games, PE, modern foreign languages, design technology, art and digital literacy teach all Prep school children. Our specialist facilities provide the perfect learning environment for these subjects. In addition, in Year 5 and Year 6 your child will be taught by a subject specialist in science where lessons are conducted in one of our three science labs. They also have an additional new subject added to their timetable – Latin. Our highly-experienced key stage specialist teachers will provide the core teaching in English and maths. By Year 7 your child will be set in all subjects and taught by a subject specialist in all lessons, including wellbeing, geography and history. This ensures your child has experienced the senior school model of teaching before they reach Year 9.
To allow your child to have a focused conclusion to their learning, the day will end in the same way it began – with their form teacher. This is a crucial cog in our exceptional pastoral wheel. It allows the teacher who knows your child best to touch base with them to ensure the day delivered all it had promised. And it allows them to support your child if things didn’t quite go to plan.
There are 21 Saturdays in the academic year where children in Year 5 and above attend school, with Year 4 attending school on 17 Saturdays. Saturday mornings are filled with curriculum extension activities where children consolidate their learning and stretch their understanding. Saturday afternoons follow the traditional structure of sports fixtures which parents are warmly invited to watch every week.
Food
Growing children need wholesome food which is why we commit to having such a brilliant Catering Department. All of your child’s meals are seasonally planned, freshly prepared and cooked on site. Morning break is at 10am – the same time for all children in the school. To ensure your child is fuelled appropriately so they can fully engage with their morning lessons they will be served a carbohydrate-based snack. This will provide them with a slow release of energy to keep them focused until lunch.
Lunch break for our Prep school children is at 12.45pm. Lunch service is staggered to ensure the dining hall feels a welcoming place for your child to eat lunch with their friends. The time your child will be called for lunch rotates throughout the week, so sometimes they will eat first and then enjoy the fresh air and sometimes the other way around. Lunch is canteen style with a wide range of tasty and nutritious food on offer to cater for all tastes. There are always hot and cold options, with plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables and salads. Our bespoke menus operate on a three-week rotation and there is always a vegetarian option for those who choose to go meat free. Our aim is to feed your child but also to educate them about healthy choices and responsible eating. For example, when sweet treats and puddings are available our aim is to use reduced sugar and healthy alternatives.
To give your child that energy boost they need to see them through to the end of the day they are offered a snack during afternoon break at 3.15pm. Our approach to food is to ensure that your child has the correct levels of energy to perform well inside and outside of the classroom throughout the day.
Logistics
The Prep School Day
- 7.30am breakfast club (optional for day children £)
- 8am Gates open
- 8.20am Registration
- 10.30 am Morning break
- 12.40pm Lunch break
- 3.35pm Afternoon break
- 4.40pm school day ends
- 4.40pm After school clubs (optional)
- 5.50pm Clubs end
- 5.30pm Prep (optional for day children £)
- 6.30pm Supper (optional for day children £)
- 7pm Boarders’ evening activities
- 8pm Bedtime routine
Drop off
The gates at our Prep school open at 8am ready for the children to spill into their classrooms for 8.20am. Every day starts with 20 minutes of precious form time with your child’s class teacher to ensure they are set for the busy day ahead.
Our boarders enjoy a nourishing breakfast in our dining hall before the school day and our day children are invited to join them from 7.30am if they wish. We know how busy mornings can be so this option is valued by many families. Your child will be spoilt for choice for breakfast. There is always a hot option such as eggs on toast as well as cereal, porridge, yoghurt, toast and fresh fruit to kickstart their day.
After school
The school day finishes at 4.40pm but the fun doesn’t stop there. There is a full programme of after-school clubs which we actively encourage all children to take advantage of. There are four categories of clubs: physical, skill development, academic and artistic. We recommend your child tries one club from each group to fully benefit from our broad range of extra-curricular activities. Some of our clubs are run by our teachers who are passionate about a certain hobby, subject or sports and are free of charge. We also invite external professionals to run clubs such as LAMDA, Gymnastics and Golf, which do incur costs.
We offer Homework Club every day free of charge, so if there isn’t a new club your child wants to try and you need care for them after school they can stay with us until 5.30pm.
At 5.30pm our boarders head off to evening prep before heading into the Dining Hall for their homecooked supper at 6.30pm. Day children are invited to join boarders and can be collected as late as 7pm if family circumstances require it.
What we’re up to…
We were thrilled to welcome back Corylus Collective for another brilliant Nature Crafting course! Hannah and her team had the children exploring our Forest School, drawing artistic inspiration from the beautiful natural surroundings. From 3D outdoor artworks and butterfly tapestries to clay caterpillars and printmaking, there was creativity at every turn. Fresh air, nature and crafts…what a fabulous club! #NatureCrafting #OutDoorLearning #CreativeKids #Nursery #PrePrep #Prep #IndependentSchool #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex
The boarders have had a jam-packed first half of the summer term, finishing on a high with an incredible talent contest! From singing and music to magic and dancing, they (along with the Boarding Team) gave it their all in a fun-filled showdown. What a talented bunch they are. #ILoveBoarding #TogetherWeInspire #CountryBoardingSchool #Nursery #PrePrep #Prep #CoEdSchool #IndependentSchool #Liphook #Hampshire #WestSussex #Surrey
The weather definitely did not stop play today at the Multi-Activities Club! Great fun has been had by all the children, and it’s been a jam-packed day full of zip-lining, sports, crafts and swimming. All the children got stuck in and had an amazing time from start to finish. Smiles all around! #MultiActivitiesClub #Nursery #PrePrep #Prep #CoEdSchool #IndependentSchool #HolidayClub #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex
Our amazing Year 4s wowed us all last week with their unforgettable production of Archibald’s War, brilliantly directed by Miss Ingamells. The children sang, danced, and acted their wartime socks off, first performing to the whole school, then delivering an exclusive show for proud parents. Our Head called it “a true triumph,” adding, “I couldn’t have been prouder of what the children accomplished.” Bravo, Year 4! #TogetherWeThrive #TogetherWeAchieve #Nursery #PrePrep #Prep #CoEdSchool #IndependentSchool #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex
Yesterday, Year 7 visited the @the_globe and watched a one-of-a-kind performance of Romeo and Juliet, a classic Shakespearean text with a Wild West twist! Not only did they enjoy an incredible production, but they also explored this historic venue and even tried on some costumes. This inspiring trip ties into their current English text, King of Shadows by Susan Cooper. What a way to bring literature to life! #Shakespeare #GlobeTheatre #TogetherWeInspire #Nursery #PrePrep #Prep #CoEdIndependentSchool #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex
Year 1 were buzzing with creativity this morning in an interactive literacy session. Using picture prompts, they built imaginative sentences, structured stories and shared their joyful tales with the class. Today’s Essential Skill focus was Aiming High and they certainly did. #Literacy #AimingHigh #CreativeClassroom #EssentialSkills #TogetherWeLearn #CoEdSchool #Nursery #PrePrep #Prep #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex
A beautiful performance at our Cushion Concert this week by one of our talented Year 6 pupils. These weekly concerts are informal events where we invite parents into school to enjoy their children’s musical talents in a relaxed setting. Music is woven into the fabric of life at Highfield and Brookham, and we see it as a vital part of nurturing well-rounded, confident children and supporting academic learning. #TogetherWeInspire #Nursery #PrePrep #Prep #CoEdSchool #IndependentCountrySchool #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex
After a busy morning of swimming with their parents watching on, our Nursery children were more than ready for a hearty lunch. Bangers and mash with lots of vegetables were perfect for hungry children and went down a treat! Lots of happy faces and full tummies – all thanks to our fabulous kitchen team for another delicious and nutritious meal. #TogetherWeGrow #Nursery #PrePrep #Prep #CoEdIndependentSchool #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex.
We love hearing from our Old Highfieldians. Recently, we had the absolute pleasure of welcoming back Olivia, who was with us from 2006 to 2016 to hear about her journey since leaving Highfield and Brookham and the lasting friendships and memories she still treasures. It’s something we hear time and time again from generations of leavers – there’s just something magical about the school and being part of the Highfield and Brookham community. #HighfieldandBrookhamMagic #OldHighfieldians #HighfieldandBrookhamMemories #CoEdIndependentSchool #Nursery #PrePrep #Prep #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex
Yesterday featured back-to-back House tennis matches across all year groups, with plenty of friendly rivalry on the courts. As always, the spirit of competition was high and the matches closely contested. The winning House will be announced shortly. Good luck to all! #TogetherWeAchieve #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #Nursery #PrePrep #Prep #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex
The IPQ Exhibition on Saturday was fantastic. Our Year 8 pupils proudly presented their IPQ projects to parents, staff and visiting senior school representatives. It was a wonderful showcase of their hard work and great preparation for senior school. Well done Year 8! #TogetherWeAchieve #Nursery #PrePrep #Prep #IndepenedentSchool #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #CoEdSchool Bedales School Canford School Charterhouse School Churcher’s College Cranleigh School Downe House School Gordonstoun Seaford College Sherborne Boys
Deputy Head Kerri Wilkes, explains how our bespoke skills-based education programme is empowering young minds with the skills they need for today, and tomorrow. Click on the link in our bio above to read our Essential Skills blog. #TogetherWeLearn #TogetherWeInspire #Nursery #PrePrep #Prep #CoEdIndependentSchool #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex
We’ve had the pleasure of welcoming grannies, grandads, grandpas and nanas into school again this afternoon. The occasion was the second Grandparents’ Tea Party of the summer term, a special event which is much loved by both children and adults alike. After a leisurely tour of the school guided by their grandchildren, the grandparents are treated to a sumptuous tea laid on by our fabulous catering team before rounding off their stay with a wonderful concert in the Chapel. #TogetherWeGrow #GrandparentsTeaParty #AfternoonTea #IndependentSchoolsInHampshire #BoardingSchoolsInHampshire
Year 5 have been working on mitre joints in DT today as they continue their project of making picture frames and birdboxes. A mitre joint is a type of angle joint formed by cutting two pieces of material at an angle to create a corner, which allows the two pieces to join flush at the edge, concealing the end grain and creating a neat, finished look. During the process, the children used mitre boxes and saws, carpentry squares and sanding machines. #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeManufacture #TogetherWeBuild #DesignTechnology #CountryBoardingSchoolsInHampshire #WestSussex #Hampshire #Surrey
Big congratulations to our boys’ 1st XI who have just reached the third round of the @iapsuksport U13 cricket competition with a thrilling two-wicket win over our visitors from @beaconschooluk. A low-scoring game was in the balance until the death before a boundary through midwicket in the 19th over sealed Highfield and Brookham’s place in the last 16, where we will face @caldicottschool from Buckinghamshire. #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeCompete #PrepSchoolCricket #PrepSchoolSport #IndependentSchoolsInHampshire #Liphook #WestSussex #Surrey
Year 6 have today been polishing up their mapwork skills in geography. Working in small groups, the children had to use six-figure grid references to plot their way around the grounds in search of a dozen strategically-placed challenge stations, with each station featuring a series of tricky questions relating to direction, distance, height and relief of a set area. #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeProgress #GeographyFieldwork #Mapwork #Collaboration #CountryBoardingSchoolsInHampshire
This Saturday, our Year 8 pupils will proudly present their IPQ projects to parents, staff and visiting senior school representatives. Each chose a question close to their heart, reflecting their passions and interests. The academic journey through defining the question, research, creating, reflecting and presenting has stretched them in every way. They’ve developed skills including independence, resilience, critical thinking, problem-solving and so much more. All great preparation for their next steps to senior school, we couldn’t be prouder of all they’ve achieved. @bedalesschool @canfordschool @charterhousesch @churchers1722 @cranleighschool @downe_house @seafordcollege @sherborneboys #TogetherWeLearn #TogetherWeAchieve #Nursery #PrePrep #Prep #CoEdIndependentSchool #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex
Caps, sun cream and copious amounts of water were the order of the day as we welcomed our friends from Aldro and Wellington College Prep for a series of terrific cricket matches under sunny skies. Keeping your cool in the heat of battle is not always the easiest thing to do, especially on a warm day, but we had no such worries as all the matches were once again played in fantastic spirit, a pleasingly common feature of prep school sport. #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeCompete #TogetherWeSupport #PrepSchoolSport #BoardingSchoolsInHampshire #IndependentSchoolsInHampshire
You know the busy summer term is in full swing when the grounds team get to work painting the running lane lines ahead of Sports Day. June will see not one, not two but three sports days as the children from Nursery, Pre-prep and Prep each get their moment in the sporting spotlight, cheered on by friends and family. Sports Day is always such a wonderful occasion in the school calendar and one that fills us with immense pride as the children of all ages strive to give their best, win, lose or draw. #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeCompete #TogetherWeEncourage #SchoolSportsDay #CountryPrepSchoolsInHampshire
Musical marvels from Year 5 hit the right note today with a workshop dedicated to hit stage show Mary Poppins. Children from Highfield and Brookham were joined by pupils from @camelsdaleprimaryschool and Beacon Hill Community Primary School as part of a creative arts outreach programme; performing charming scenes from the enchanting tale of a magical nanny in London and super(califragilisticexpialidocious) songs. Bravo, children! #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWePerform #StageShow #SchoolPerformingArts #MaryPoppins #IndependentSchoolsInHampshire
The Pre-prep’s swim gala season is upon us, which gives our young swimmers the chance to show their proud parents how much they have learned in the pool under the expert eye of dedicated coaches Mrs Simpson, Mrs Castles and Mr Rodriguez during their weekly lessons. Today was the turn of Reception, who demonstrated how confident they are in the water as they learn a key life skill. #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeLearn #TogetherWeSwim #Swimming #LifeSkills #BoardingSchoolsInHampshire
A Highfield and Brookham pupil who was bitten by the gardening bug at a very young age has harvested not one but two awards at the BBC Gardeners World spring fair at Beaulieu, National Motor Museum. #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeSucceed #TogetherWeCultivate #Gardening #AwardWinner #CountrySchoolsInHampshire #IndependentSchoolsInHampshire
As we motor through the final term of another busy, productive and enriching school year, thoughts are already beginning to turn to the children moving up a year in September. To help prepare them for this exciting change, Year 3 today booked in for a lesson in the Prep school library and made full use of the comfy sofas and chairs, the colourful bean bags and, of course, the wonderful range of age-related reading material which is expertly managed by Dr Whitfield, our dedicated librarian. #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeLearn #TogetherWeProgress #WeLoveReading #LoveOfBooks #WeLoveOurLibraries #CountrySchoolsInHampshire #BoardingSchoolsInHampshire