A year on from the opening of its dedicated wellbeing hub, Highfield and Brookham School’s pastoral provision is still very much in rude health.

The Beehive was unveiled last autumn as a place to promote good mental health among the nursery, pre-prep and prep school’s pupils and staff.

Staffed throughout the day by teachers expertly trained in mental health first aid, the wellbeing centre is a place where children can relax, take time out and take stock of their emotions whenever they need to.

And it is the perfect foil for the independent school’s continued pastoral drive, in and out of the classroom.

On Thursday, which was officially National Mental Health Day, prep school pupils convened in the Chapel for an uplifting ‘Power of Singing’ initiative to get their days off to a positive start; the children belting out Taylor Swift’s smash hit Shake It Off and Eye of the Tiger by Survivor, made famous by the Rocky film franchise.

In the classroom, the Nursery children have this week been exploring their feelings while reading Anna Llenas’ book The Colour Monster, which explores different emotions and links them to colours.

And pre-prep children were yesterday joined by their Year 8 peers for some thoughtful circle time, with the children taking turns to hold Year 2 mascot ‘Fluffy’ before describing their ‘happy place’ to the group.

Suzannah Cryer, Head of Highfield and Brookham, said: “The health and wellbeing of our children is paramount and we take our responsibilities very seriously indeed. In a fast-moving world, taking time out to look after mental health is very important, a sentiment which applies to both adults and children.

“The Beehive is a wonderful addition to our pastoral care offering and the benefits to the children of having somewhere calm to stop, think and breathe is there for all to see and is really reflected in the classroom and beyond.”

The school’s continued desire to offer the most robust pastoral provision possible has led to it being named a finalist in several national award schemes and tonight the school will find out if it has been successful in this year’s National Association for Pastoral Care in Education awards.