The memory of a famed Scottish poet has been celebrated in style at an independent school in Liphook.

Honouring the life and times of the legendary Robert Burns, children at Highfield and Brookham School revelled in a heady mix of haggis, Highland Games, bagpipes and Irn-Bru.

The grand occasion was Burns Night, which is celebrated all over the world on the anniversary of the poet and lyricist’s birth on January 25, 1759.

Boarders at Highfield and Brookham got the birthday ball rolling early as they were treated to a traditional haggis dinner on Tuesday, with proud Scotsman and Year 6 teacher Simon Gunn piping in the haggis and making the traditional address, before four ‘clans’ converged on the school sports hall to compete in their very own Highland Games.

Rabbie Burns is recognised the world over for his work focusing on universal themes of love and nature and Mr Gunn, one of a healthy number of revered Scottish teachers at the nursery, pre-prep and prep school on the rural borders of Hampshire, Surrey and West Sussex, was the natural choice to lead the commemoration being an accomplished piper; having had the honour of performing in front of the King at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday in November with the London Scottish Regiment Pipe and Drums Band.

The tartan theme continued on Friday as the pre-prep and prep school children banded together for a lively whole-school ceilidh featuring a dazzling array of toe-tapping reels and dances from north of the border.

The tennis courts were alive with dance, laughter, mirth and merriment as the children threw themselves whole-heartedly into the Military Two-Step, Virginia Reel, Highland Barn Dance, Flying Scotsman and Orcadian Strip the Willow, all to the accompaniment of the tunefully sonorous bagpipes.

Suzannah Cryer, Head of Highfield and Brookham School, said: “Burns Night is traditionally a time when friends and family gather to celebrate the life of one of the most inspirational poets to ever grace our shores. And given that so much of his work focused on love, it seems appropriate that the loving Highfield and Brookham family should come together and celebrate too.

“From the haggis supper and hilarious Highland Games to the charm of the ceilidh, our children had the most wonderful time and strengthened their loving ties within our community that little bit more.”