History
Highfield School was founded in Southampton in 1892 by Mr EA Wells, the owner and first Headmaster. The school first opened as a boys’ prep with 18 pupils. In 1904, Mr William Mills became the owner and Headmaster and moved Highfield to its present 175-acre site in Liphook, on the Hampshire, West Sussex and Surrey border.
The new purpose-built school opened in September 1907 with 32 boys, all boarders. The school grew steadily; a beautiful Chapel was added in 1910, with other buildings quickly following suit. Mr Mills, who was ordained in 1912 and later became an Honorary Canon of Portsmouth Cathedral, remained Headmaster until 1953. Under Canon Mills, the school grew to accommodate 120 boys and established an enviable reputation for academic and sporting excellence. Highfield pupils won many scholarships to the leading English public schools, including Eton, Winchester, Shrewsbury, Charterhouse, Rugby and Sherborne.
Canon Mills died in 1953 and was succeeded by his son, Peter. The school became co-educational in 1978 and also began to take day children into the junior part of the school. Peter Mills retired in 1979 to be succeeded by Old Highfieldian Robin Orr, who remained Headmaster until 1993. During his tenure, school numbers rose from around 120 to almost 170. Under Nigel Ramage, Mr Orr’s successor, the school began a considerable programme of refurbishment and building work. Mr Ramage was succeeded in 1999 by Phillip Evitt when the compulsory boarding requirement ended, although many children still choose to board to this day, with almost all boarding for at least part of their final two years. Phillip Evitt retired in 2022 and was succeeded by Mrs Suzannah Cryer, current Head of Highfield and Brookham.
Today, all departments have designated teaching rooms. New Science, Maths and Computing facilities were opened in September 2000. A new indoor swimming pool was opened at Easter 2005, and a new Music School in 2006. Today, Highfield is genuinely co-educational with equal numbers of girls and boys. In 1992, a new building, designed by Petersfield-based architect, Roger Hill Building Design, was built within the grounds of Highfield to house our Pre-Prep children.
Highfield and Brookham is owned by Mr William Mills, the grandson of the founder. Mr Mills is also Chairman of the Board of Directors. Today, Highfield and Brookham continues to enjoy an outstanding reputation as a top Pre-Prep and Prep school for children aged 2-13 that offers an excellent all-round education, and its long tradition of scholarship success continues.
What we’re up to…
What a lovely morning we had yesterday! Our Reception children were so excited to welcome some very special visitors into their classrooms for Remembrance Day crafts. 🎨 Side by side, they painted, drew, shaped clay and scrunched up colourful tissue paper to create beautiful poppies. Remembrance is all about coming together to honour those who came before us, so it felt especially fitting to share these crafts with people so special to the children. Moments like these remind us all how precious time with our loved ones is, and why we pause each year to remember. Thank you so much to all our special visitors for joining us. ❤️ #independentschool #remembrance #armisticeday #lestweforget #earlyyears
What a lovely morning we had yesterday! Our Reception children were so excited to welcome some very special visitors into their classrooms for Remembrance Day crafts. 🎨 Side by side, they painted, drew, shaped clay and scrunched up colourful tissue paper to create beautiful poppies. Remembrance is all about coming together to honour those who came before us, so it felt especially fitting to share these crafts with people so special to the children. Moments like these remind us all how precious time with our loved ones is, and why we pause each year to remember. Thank you so much to all our special visitors for joining us. ❤️ #independentschool #remembrance #armisticeday #lestweforget #earlyyears
One more sleep… Christmas is coming to Highfield! 🎄 We’ve been counting down to our Christmas Shopping Evening for weeks, and now it’s almost here! Come and pick up some gorgeous gifts from our wonderful local stallholders and enjoy the festive atmosphere, all to the sound of live music from our talented pupils. See you tomorrow! ✨
Today, our school paused to remember all those who have given their lives in the service of their country, among them the brave Old Highfieldians who fell during the two world wars. Our Head, Mrs Cryer, led a poignant Act of Remembrance, reading the names of the fallen alongside her husband, Bob. Mr Gunn played the bagpipes, and Will Spencer sounded The Last Post on the trumpet before the whole school fell silent for two minutes of reflection. As we remember their sacrifice, we are reminded that peace is something to be treasured and never taken for granted. We also reflect on the values they stood for: courage, comradeship and care for others. These are qualities we can carry into our own community every day, by looking after one another and making sure no one feels alone. We will remember them. 🕊️ #independentschool #remembranceday #oldhighfieldians #armisticeday #lestweforget
Today, our school paused to remember all those who have given their lives in the service of their country, among them the brave Old Highfieldians who fell during the two world wars. Our Head, Mrs Cryer, led a poignant Act of Remembrance, reading the names of the fallen alongside her husband, Bob. Mr Gunn played the bagpipes, and Will Spencer sounded The Last Post on the trumpet before the whole school fell silent for two minutes of reflection. As we remember their sacrifice, we are reminded that peace is something to be treasured and never taken for granted. We also reflect on the values they stood for: courage, comradeship and care for others. These are qualities we can carry into our own community every day, by looking after one another and making sure no one feels alone. We will remember them. 🕊️ #independentschool #remembranceday #oldhighfieldians #armisticeday #lestweforget
Last week our Year 4s headed to The D-Day Story in Portsmouth, the only UK museum dedicated to telling the events and stories behind D-Day and the Battle of Normandy. What they discovered was a powerful reminder of something we talk about a lot at Highfield: adapting and supporting others. Those who served had to do both, in the most extraordinary circumstances. As we pause tomorrow for Remembrance Day, we’ll be thinking of them all. ❤️
Who better to show you around Highfield than our pupils? Consider this a teaser! For the full tour experience, join us at our Open Morning on Friday 20 November. Come and explore our 175 acres and get to know our independent, family-owned school. We’d love to welcome you! 💛 🔗 Book via the link in the comments
Who better to show you around Highfield than our pupils? Consider this a teaser! For the full tour experience, join us at our Open Morning on Friday 20 November. Come and explore our 175 acres and get to know our independent, family-owned school. We’d love to welcome you! 💛 Book your place via the link in our bio. #independentschool #hampshireschools #schooltour #openmorning #liphook
We loved seeing our Highfield families together for our annual bonfire and fireworks evening in support of Highreach Holidays. 🎆 Each year, our pupils make something to go on the bonfire for our house competition, and this year things took a mythical turn! The children created creatures in their house colours, giving our grounds team a tough job picking a winner. A big cheer for Agincourt! Huge thanks to our grounds and maintenance teams for the weeks of preparation, and to our catering team for keeping us fuelled throughout the evening (those churros were delicious!). As always, thank you to our families for your generosity. It’s wonderful to see our community come together, and we can’t wait to share how much we’ve raised for Highreach at the end of the week! ✨ #independentschool #liphookschool #charityevent #bonfirenight #fireworks
It’s not just the sky that’s been lighting up at Highfield! 🎆🔥 Last week, the science team showed our pupils how different solutions can change the colour of a flame, and curiosity soon caught fire, with pupils dreaming up their own colour combinations! So when the fireworks lit up the sky on our Bonfire Night on Saturday, they knew a little more about the chemistry behind all that colour!
We couldn’t be prouder of our Year 8 pupil William 💛 A few weeks ago, he took on a demanding 21km challenge, completing a 14.7km run followed by a 6.3km swim and raising more than £1,000 for @charliespromisecharity. William was inspired after hearing Martin Cosser speak to Year 8 at Highfield about his son Charlie, who lost his life to knife crime. He chose to support the charity’s ‘21 for 21’ campaign, honouring Charlie’s memory and marking what would have been his 21st birthday. We think our Head, Mrs Cryer, sums it up perfectly: “For a young person to recognise another family’s pain and put so much effort into supporting their work speaks volumes about his character.” 🔗 Read more about William’s incredible achievement via the link in our bio. #highfieldschool #charliespromise #charityfundraising #pupilachievement #liphook
We couldn’t be prouder of our Year 8 pupil William 💛 A few weeks ago, he took on a demanding 21km challenge, completing a 14.7km run followed by a 6.3km swim and raising more than £1,000 for @charliespromise. William was inspired after hearing Martin Cosser speak to Year 8 at Highfield about his son Charlie, who lost his life to knife crime. He chose to support the charity’s ‘21 for 21’ campaign, honouring Charlie’s memory and marking what would have been his 21st birthday. We think our Head, Mrs Cryer, sums it up perfectly: “For a young person to recognise another family’s pain and put so much effort into supporting their work speaks volumes about his character.” Read more about William’s incredible achievement 👇
A little AC/DC in the Chapel? Go on then, Charlie! 🎸 Taking on Whole Lotta Rosie on guitar meant more than learning the piece. Charlie also had to create his own solo, planning how it would fit into the music and practising until he was ready to perform it. Plenty of preparation behind that moment in the spotlight! A huge well done to all our musicians who performed at Tuesday’s Year 4–6 concert. It was wonderful to hear such a range of music filling the Chapel! #independentschool #schoolconcert #youngmusicians #guitarplayer #liphookschool
A little AC/DC in the Chapel? Go on then, Charlie! 🎸 Taking on Whole Lotta Rosie on guitar meant more than learning the piece. Charlie also had to create his own solo, planning how it would fit into the music and practising until he was ready to perform it. Plenty of preparation behind that moment in the spotlight! A huge well done to all our musicians who performed at Tuesday’s Year 4–6 concert. It was wonderful to hear such a range of music filling the Chapel! #independentschool #schoolconcert #youngmusicians #guitarplayer #liphookschool
What’s the secret to a perfect corner? Planning! Year 5 have been making mitre joins in DT, where two pieces of wood have to meet at exactly 45°. That means measuring carefully (then double, triple and quadruple checking!) before cutting and sanding. And as they found out, there’s nothing more satisfying than when those two pieces finally fit together! #independentschool #liphookschool #planning #designtechnology #woodwork
What’s the secret to a perfect corner? Planning! Year 5 have been making mitre joins in DT, where two pieces of wood have to meet at exactly 45°. That means measuring carefully (then double, triple and quadruple checking!) before cutting and sanding. And as they found out, there’s nothing more satisfying than when those two pieces finally fit together! #independentschool #liphookschool #planning #designtechnology #woodwork
Our chairs went off for half term… and never came back! When Year 2 returned to class yesterday, their chairs were nowhere to be seen. It looked like they were enjoying their holiday a little too much! So the children did the only sensible thing and wrote letters to persuade them to come home. They thought carefully about what might tempt a chair back to school and used some very convincing persuasive language. And this morning… the chairs were back! Clearly Year 2 know how to make a convincing argument! 🎉
Think. Plan. Try. Learn. Adjust. Retry. Improve. 💪 We talk a lot about planning at Highfield, both in the classroom and out on the sports field. Whatever the game, we encourage our children to set themselves goals and work out how to get there, even when a curveball or two comes their way! With a busy half term of fixtures ahead, there’s so much more learning and improving to come. Bring on the season! 💪🏀🏉 #independentschool #goalsetting #schoolsports #rugby #netball
Andddd we’re back! We hope all our families had a restful half term break. Our children have returned full of energy and ready for the busy weeks ahead. Just this morning, our Year 7s have been creating their own pop art! They started by drawing their outlines, then used markers to make their designs pop and will eventually finish with acrylic paint. Great planning in action: setting a goal and working out the steps to achieve it! With lots coming up this half term, it’s a skill they’ll certainly be putting to good use! 💪 #independentschool #backtoschool #settinggoals #lifeskills #popart
Andddd we’re back! We hope all our families had a restful half term break. Our children have returned full of energy and ready for the busy weeks ahead. Just this morning, our Year 7s have been creating their own pop art! They started by drawing their outlines, then used markers to make their designs pop and will eventually finish with acrylic paint. Great planning in action: setting a goal and working out the steps to achieve it! With lots coming up this half term, it’s a skill they’ll certainly be putting to good use! 💪 #independentschool #backtoschool #settinggoals #lifeskills #popart
Halloween has arrived at Highfield… 🎃 Our boarders got well and truly into the spooky spirit, showing off their pumpkin carving skills with some seriously creative designs! Swipe through to see some un-boo-liveable creations ➡️ #independentschool #boardingschool #boardinglife #creativedesign #pumpkincarving
Halloween has arrived at Highfield… 🎃 Our boarders got well and truly into the spooky spirit, showing off their pumpkin carving skills with some seriously creative designs! Swipe through to see some un-boo-liveable creations ➡️ #independentschool #boardingschool #boardinglife #creativedesign #pumpkincarving
