Having last year won two national cricket titles, Highfield and Brookham School is celebrating a hat-trick of honours.

Our young cricketers hit a purple patch last summer; securing the U11 Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS) title at Merchant Taylors’ School in Middlesex before the U13s were named joint national IAPS champions after their final tie with Millfield was curtailed by heavy rain in York.

Now, Highfield and Brookham has been confirmed among the top 50 prep and junior schools in the UK by The Cricketer magazine for the sixth successive year.

The latest inclusion in the respected magazine’s annual schools guide reflects the unswerving commitment of Highfield and Brookham toward its cricket provision.

The school runs 34 boys and girls’ teams from Year 2 to Year 8 and fulfils around 230 competitive fixtures against rival prep schools from across Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Berkshire each year, taking full advantage of its 12 natural grass pitches and artificial strips.

Under the guidance of Head of Cricket Richard Dunn, Highfield and Brookham prides itself on performance and participation. Matches are offered for children of all abilities with the aim of making cricket more enjoyable and the “hope that children will want to play again tomorrow”.

To be considered for a place among the top 50 prep schools, all entries were judged against an extensive set of criteria, including a compelling commitment to cricket in the curriculum, facilities, fixture programmes and coaching.

Alongside its 12 pitches, Highfield and Brookham offers three artificial outdoor nets, three indoor nets, four grass nets and two mobile cages, as well as three bowling machines and two Flicx pitches on the astro to help cricket development.

And the nursery, pre-prep and prep school on the rural borders of Hampshire, Surrey and West Sussex is committed to continued investment in its facilities and coaching courses for staff, something which has borne fruit in recent years.

As well as representing Highfield and Brookham in external fixtures, many young school cricketers also play for local club sides such as Liphook & Ripsley, Haslemere, Fernhurst and Grayshott, while 25 children are on county pathway schemes run by Hampshire, Surrey and Sussex.

Suzannah Cryer, Head of Highfield and Brookham, said: “The cricket season seems a long way off when it’s so cold, wet and dreary outside, but one thing that will sustain us through the winter months is the continued progress we have made on and off the cricket pitch.

“We are fully committed to offering our children a healthy range of sports to get involved in, not least cricket. To see our children win two national titles last year was incredible, to be named among the top 50 prep schools in the UK for our cricket provision is the cherry on the cake!”