Welcome
Welcome to Highfield School, an independent, family-owned day and boarding school for boys and girls aged 2–13. Our co-educational school is set in 175 acres of stunning grounds within the South Downs National Park in Liphook, and we welcome families from across Hampshire, West Sussex and Surrey, as well as further afield nationally and internationally.
Highfield is one of a small minority of stand-alone prep schools with over 350 children. At a time when many prep schools are closing, merging, or being absorbed into larger senior-school groups, our independence means we get to decide our own future. We can pivot quickly, invest where it matters most, and make decisions based on the families we know so well rather than the priorities of a wider group.
We are also one of the few schools in our area that supports children moving on at both key transition points, Year 6 or Year 8, to the full range of senior schools. Over the last five years, our children have gone on to 86 different senior schools. That breadth of choice, combined with genuinely personal guidance at every stage, means we help each child find the right school at the right time for them.
Our academic credentials speak for themselves: we are a Skills Builder Gold Award holder and an ISEB iPQ Gold School, and our September 2025 ISI inspection praised the depth of our pupils’ independent research skills and the strength of our curriculum’s schemes of work across subjects. Alongside this, we take huge pride in the breadth of what children can achieve here. From national finals in football and cricket, to a swim squad unbeaten in galas for seven years, to 29 senior school scholarships in one year across multiple disciplines, and a 100% distinction rate in LAMDA exams.
We pride ourselves on the strength and breadth of our curriculum, our first-class teaching, our commitment to the very highest levels of pastoral care, and our ongoing commitment to the environment, not to mention helping shape well-rounded, empathetic and caring individuals who go on to some of the leading senior schools in the country.
Suzannah Cryer
Head
I am delighted to extend a very warm welcome to our school community. We are small enough to honour the individual and large enough to provide an exceptional academic experience. A balance made possible by remaining genuinely independent and family-owned.
We believe in providing a nurturing and stimulating environment that encourages creativity, growth and a thirst for learning. Our connected, skills-rich curriculum ensures children don’t just learn facts, but develop the deep thinking, purposeful questioning and confident communication they’ll need for a world that demands adaptability, resilience and creativity. Your child needs to be able to challenge ideas, including their own; to think, and also to do. Our co-curricular and extra-curricular activities give children a remarkable array of opportunities to apply their learning practically and meaningfully.
A school’s success is built on the strength of its community. I can honestly say I have never experienced a stronger, more supportive environment, where children have the space to breathe and the support they need to thrive. We take pride in creating a place where every child knows they belong, finds what they love, and contributes to a community that cares.
Being a school that educates children from Nursery through to Year 8 has real advantages. We shape the whole trajectory of a child’s growth, offering challenging learning experiences, meaningful enrichment both in and out of the classroom, and a dedicated team of teachers who take real pride in knowing your child and giving them a seamless education.
Your child’s journey with us will be bespoke, and our leavers go on to a vast range of top day and boarding senior schools. We navigate that journey with each family individually, so we find the right school for your child, not a house style everyone is fitted into. Highfield children grow up to be wonderful adults: confident, authentic, and with a real desire to engage with the world around them.
The best way to experience the school and feel the warmth of our community is to visit us and meet our staff and children. They are enormously proud of their school and are always keen to show it off.
I look forward to meeting you soon.
An excellent and very broad educational experience, combined with first-class pastoral care, great facilities in a wonderfully inspiring location.