Rule Breakers Have Hearts In The Right Place

Our fun-loving children have been caught flouting the rules.

Virtually the whole pupil body at Highfield and Brookham were spotted sporting home clothes, trainers, jewellery, painted nails, beanie hats and baseball caps of all shapes, sizes and colours last Friday in a clear breach of school uniform policy.

But there was no need for any serious reprimands or phone calls to parents as it was all in a good cause.

The occasion was the annual Break The Rules Day fundraiser, with a healthy £1,636.64 raised for the Highreach Holidays charity which provides week-long summer holidays for disabled children.

In a fun twist to proceedings, Mikayla van den Berg, the school’s Director of Boarding, wore full school uniform for the day, along with her boarding staff colleagues, with playful pupils going around armed with tape measures, rulers and checklists to ensure that the uniforms were up to the expected standard. Apparently, Miss van den Berg’s uniform passed the strict inspection.

The children were asked to donate cash for every rule that they broke on the day, with all the money going to Highreach.

Highreach, which has been running since 2018, provides holidays for children with physical and learning disabilities. It was declared ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted inspectors in its most recent inspection.

The charity is totally dependent on year-round fundraising to host the holidays every August and relies on a committed bank of volunteers, including many former pupils of Highfield and Brookham who return each year.

Suzannah Cryer, Head of Highfield and Brookham School, said: “Like most schools, we take a pretty dim view of flagrant rule breaking, but we also have a strong sense of occasion and we’re delighted to make a fun exception, especially for such a wonderful and much-loved cause as Highreach.

“The children really went to town, bringing a real splash of character and colour to the school day, and raised an amazing amount of money for a brilliant cause.”