Together we achieve

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.

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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
  • 8.15am Registration
  • 10am Morning break
  • 12.45pm Lunch break
  • 3.15pm Afternoon break
  • 4.40pm school day ends
  • 4.40pm After school clubs (optional)
  • 5.30pm 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 8.15am. Every day starts with 15 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.

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What we’re up to…

We have reaffirmed our commitment to excellence by unveiling a scholarship award for pupils in Year 5. The all-rounder scholarship, which will be available from September 2025, is designed to recognise exceptional children who have a positive attitude to learning and demonstrate phenomenal abilities in and out of the classroom. #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #Scholarships #EducationalExcellence

FLASHBACK FRIDAY: As we count down to tonight’s opening ceremony of Paris 2024, we fondly remember the excitement of Year 4 staging their very own Olympic Games during the spring term. The children made their own flags, banners and badges before competing in select events under the flag of their chosen countries. Three months on, it’s almost time for the games of the 33rd Olympiad to begin… #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #OlympicGames #Paris2024

Are you considering schools? Then why not pop along to our Open Morning on 28th September and discover why we have been shortlisted for Independent Prep School of the Year? To book your place, visit bit.ly/3XZVruq

Our art room has been transformed into a veritable craft workshop this week. The children on our two-day Crafting With Kate holiday course have produced the most dazzling array of farmyard animals, dolls, insects, wreaths and pictures using different crafting techniques such as rag rugging and needle felting, as well as exploring textures, colours and patterns of different materials and fabrics. If you like what you see, we are running a Creative Crafting course in August. To book a place, simply click the link in our bio! #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #HolidayActivities #ArtsAndCrafts #CreativeCrafting

We’re thrilled to be taking part in Heritage Open Days this September with a choice of two events in our wonderful woodlands. Choose an hour-long forest school session, for children (aged 4-6) and their parents, or if you have younger children (from 18 months) come and listen to a family favourite story around the camp fire and embark on a hunt in the woods for the animals from the story. Both events offer the chance to explore our woodlands and connect with nature. Events are completely free but booking is essential ➡️highfieldandbrookham.co.uk/heritage-open-days

Our skilled grounds team are busy laying hybrid matting on our overflow car park. The matting is environmentally and wildlife friendly as it allows the grass to grow through sizeable gaps, it alleviates the risk of flooding as opposed to asphalt, and it will increase the capacity of the car park, which is particularly useful during sports fixtures when visitors to come to sample our legendary match teas! #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex

Young gymnasts have today been put through their paces under the expert eye of coach Mrs Ogilvie, having great fun as they honed their techniques. Gymnastics is just one of a wide range of amazing courses we are running during the summer holidays, and there’s still time to get involved. To see what else we have coming up, simply click the link in the bio! #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #HolidayActivities #Gymnastics

Our young woodland adventurers have been honing some essential bushcraft and life skills today. Den building, fire lighting, wood sawing, making wooden bowls using embers from a fire and making and cooking tasty bread over the campfire ensured that the children could at the very least get warm, eat and make shelter if they ever found themselves out in the forest. #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #Bushcraft

Our young innovators at Tech Camp today have been fully immersed in all things tech as they learn new skills and explore the exciting world of technology. The children have had so much fun unleashing their creativity, solving puzzles and discovering the wonders of coding and digital tools. Next Thing Education Camps

We’re thrilled to be taking part in @heritageopendays this September with a choice of two events in our wonderful woodlands. Choose an hour-long forest school session, for children (aged 4-6) and their parents, or if you have younger children (from 18 months) come and listen to a family favourite story around the camp fire and embark on a hunt in the woods for the animals from the story. Both events offer the chance to explore our woodlands and connect with nature. Events are completely free but booking is essential at: https://highfieldandbrookham.co.uk/heritage-open-days #nursery #preprepschool #prepschool #Liphook #Surrey #Hampshire #westsussex #PrivateSchool #IndependentSchool #BoardingSchool #TogetherWeGrow #heritageopendays2024

We’d be thrilled if you could spare a moment to vote for us in this year’s Tatler Schools Awards. Head to our bio to find the link. #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #tatler #tatlerschoolsguide2024 #tatlerschoolsawards2024

The children have had a fantastic time at our tennis club today, learning one of the most essential (and tricky!) skills in tennis – serving. Under the guidance of our Head Tennis Coach, and with enthusiasm and focus, the children worked hard to master their serves, from perfecting their stance to nailing the throw and swing. There’s been plenty of fun and games to help the children learn the techniques and seeing the children persevering and gaining in confidence when they get it right is fabulous. If your child would like to learn or improve their tennis skills, we’ve got two more tennis clubs running in the coming weeks. Find out more bit.ly/3y4Ybfi

We’re excited to invite you to our first Open Morning of the new academic year on 28th September. Come and discover why we’ve been shortlisted for Independent Prep School of the Year. Explore our beautiful school site, meet our dedicated staff and discover first-hand what makes our school a standout choice for your child’s education.. Head to our website (link in bio) to book. #nursery #preprepschool #prepschool #Liphook #Surrey #Hampshire #westsussex #PrivateSchool #IndependentSchool #BoardingSchool #TogetherWeGrow #awards2024 #awards #independentschooloftheyear

We’re accepting applications for our new Year 5 all-rounder scholarship for entry in September 2025. This scholarship is designed to recognise exceptional children who demonstrate a real passion for learning and a thirst for knowledge. If you have a bright, curious and enthusiastic young learner who would be eager to make the most of our enriching educational environment, we encourage you to apply. Find out more ➡️ bit.ly/4aVPBwY

After a busy morning decorating biscuits in the kitchen, our Mini Marvels headed out to make the most of the nursery garden. From digging in the sandpit to running around and playing with friends, every moment has been filled with fun and laughter. #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex

We’re thrilled to announce that Highfield and Brookham has been shortlisted for Prep School of the Year in the Independent School Parent Independent School of the Year Awards. Our focus on blending academic excellence with essential life skills has put us in the spotlight. Equipping our pupils with the tools they need to thrive, both in now and in the future. We’re incredibly proud of our team for this recognition. Fingers crossed for September!

Over, under, jumping, balancing…the children on our Mini Olympics Holiday Club really have been put through their paces today. They have shown amazing enthusiasm and energy, learnt new skills and had enormous fun doing so. It’s been fantastic to see their determination and excitement as they participate in all the various activities. Can’t wait to see them back tomorrow!

Exciting changes are happening! This underutilised area is being transformed over the holidays into a wellbeing garden. The new space will further enhance our pastoral offering, providing an outdoor classroom and a beautiful natural space where children can unwind and relax. #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #WellbeingGarden #OutdoorClassroom #NatureSpace #Relaxation #PastoralCare

We are delighted to be featured in the @goodschoolsguide Boarding Schools Guide 2024, the complete guide to the UK’s best boarding schools. Boarding at Highfield and Brookham is ever popular and an integral part of our school community. It is so much more than a place to live, it’s a vibrant, supportive community where children make cherished memories. #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #iloveboarding #countrysideboarding #GoodSchoolsGuide

Our adventurous Year 7s had an amazing week in the Scottish Highlands at Ridgway Adventure. They embraced every challenge, learned survival skills and discovered the magic of teamwork. With new friendships and unforgettable memories, they returned with stories of adventure and a newfound confidence.

Our brilliant holiday activity courses have finally got under way and we’re incredibly excited about what lies ahead. Whether you’re into the performing arts, bushcraft, sport, spectacular science, creative crafting or all things tech, we really do have something for everyone. So if you’re looking for an enriching, engaging and downright fun course for your child this summer, simply click the link in our bio and see what we’ve got to offer! #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #HolidayActivities

A medal, two new school records and a clutch of personal bests was a brilliant reward for our eight athletes who competed in this year’s National Prep Schools Track & Field Championships at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham. Warmest congratulations to Phoebe G, Xander A, Tiggy W, Clemmie C, Cristo P, Olivia T, Tiger E and Imi K, we’re very proud of you all for representing the school so brilliantly. #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #Athletics #NationalChampionships

Are you considering schools? Come along to our Open Morning on 28th September and discover why we have been shortlisted for Independent Prep School of the Year. Head to our website (link in bio) to book. #nursery #preprepschool #prepschool #Liphook #Surrey #Hampshire #westsussex #PrivateSchool #IndependentSchool #BoardingSchool #TogetherWeGrow #awards2024 #awards #independentschooloftheyear

Are you considering schools? Come along to our Open Morning on 28th September and discover why we have been shortlisted for Independent Prep School of the Year. Book your place➡️bit.ly/3XZVruq

The fabulous outdoor adventures continue for our all-action Year 7 children on their character-building trip to Scotland. Facing their fears and working as a team, the children have reached the twin summits of the mighty peak Arkle and taken to kayaking like the proverbial ducks to water. Wonder what exciting things they’ve got in store next thanks to the brilliant folk at Ridgway Adventure, Ardmore, Highlands of Scotland… #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #Adventure

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