Our Pre-Prep
Childhood is a time for fun and discovery through a wealth of learning opportunities. Our Pre-Prep is a special and unique place. Our aim is to give children the best possible start to their educational pathway, where friendships are made, individual academic excellence is achieved and happy memories are created. We are an independent Nursery, Pre-Prep and prep School in Liphook situated in 175 acres of stunning grounds in the South Downs National Park on the borders of Hampshire, Surrey and West Sussex. Children in our Pre-Prep develop their social, emotional and cognitive skills through play-based activities. Every day your child will have to opportunity to apply what they have learnt in the classroom to activities in their shared areas or out in our fabulous 175-acre grounds. These hands-on opportunities give your child’s learning meaning and a grounding in the real world.
Our Pre-Prep children visit forest school several times a week. It provides a stimulating and engaging environment that encourages exploration, creativity and curiosity. Through being outdoors your child will develop an appreciation for the environment. They will learn to understand the significant impact they can have on sustainability for themselves and future generations by learning about environmental issues and taking meaningful actions to reduce their carbon footprint. We are fortunate to have two libraries at school and one is reserved for exclusive use by our Pre-Prep children. It has been carefully curated to instil a love of books and reading in all our children and to help your child to discover the magic that books bring, inspiring them in every topic from expeditions and exercise to Fairtrade and faraway places. Storytime and our robust phonics programme will help your child to develop crucial skills such as communication and comprehension.
Alongside the core curriculum, in the Pre-Prep your child will enjoy weekly swimming lessons in additional to their games and PE lessons. They will develop a positive attitude toward exercise and will grow to understand that a healthy body means a healthy mind, helping your child gain insight on how they learn best. A Pre-Prep education is one to be cherished. It is a time to develop the foundations for a love of learning where challenges are seen as positive experiences and every activity is approached with a smile, laughter and a can-do attitude.
Seeing the pre-prep children jump into wellies and waterproof trousers in record time and charge out to break was fabulous.
What we’re up to…
What happens when you put a tomato plant in the Curiosity Cube? 🍅 Middle Nursery got straight to work investigating, sparking some wonderfully honest comments: “The seeds inside are squidgy” and “It is green and smells funny!” At this age, curiosity is where so much learning begins. Exploring what’s inside the cube helps our children develop their observation and language skills. It also gives them the confidence to express their ideas – no matter how squidgy the seeds or funny the smell! We wonder what will appear in the cube next… 🔍
🏆 We’re Mind Champions! We’re incredibly proud to have won the Mind Champion Award at the School House Awards 2026, recognising our commitment to supporting children’s mental health and wellbeing. A huge well done to our wonderful pastoral team and every member of staff who helps make wellbeing part of everyday life at Highfield. Read more via the link in our bio. #IndependentSchool #SchoolHouseAwards2026 #ChildWellbeing #MentalHealth
On Friday, our Year 8 pupils heard from Martin Cosser – Charlie’s dad and the founder of Charlie’s Promise, a charity working to fight and prevent knife crime through youth education and community engagement. At Highfield, we want our pupils to grow up with the confidence to make safe, positive choices, and to know it’s always ok to speak up and ask for help when they need it. Today was a brilliant example of that in action. Thank you Martin, for sharing such an important and powerful message with our pupils! 💙
This morning our Year 8 pupils heard from Martin Cosser – Charlie’s dad and the founder of @charliespromisecharity, a charity working to fight and prevent knife crime through youth education and community engagement. At Highfield, we want our pupils to grow up with the confidence to make safe, positive choices, and to know it’s always ok to speak up and ask for help when they need it. Today was a brilliant example of that in action. Thank you Martin, for sharing such an important and powerful message with our pupils! 💙 #HighfieldSchool #Safeguarding #KnifeCrimeAwareness #KeepingChildrenSafe #PositveChoices
🏆 We’re Mind Champions! We’re incredibly proud to have won the Mind Champion award at the School House Awards 2026, recognising our work to support children’s mental health and wellbeing. Judge and child psychotherapist Emily Samuel praised “the emphasis Highfield School places not only on supporting children, but also parents and teachers. This is genuinely a whole-community approach to wellbeing.” A huge well done to our brilliant pastoral team and all our staff, who make wellbeing part of everyday life at Highfield. Read more 👇
Today, we have welcomed our children back through the doors, filling the school once again with the unmistakable energy of Highfield! With everyone together again, now feels like the perfect moment to share something very special: ONE, our new school film. A huge thanks to the exceptionally talented team @bobbicee @nathantheys @rojwhitelockphotography & @fin.bunce for bringing our story to life. 🎬 Discover the story behind ONE and watch the full film in our latest blog via the link in our bio.
Today, we have welcomed our children back through the doors, filling the school once again with the unmistakable energy of Highfield! With everyone together again, now feels like the perfect moment to share something very special: ONE, our new school film. 🎬 Discover the story behind ONE and watch the full film in our latest blog.
We’re delighted to feature once again in this year’s Tatler Schools Guide! 👏 “As a truly independent, family-owned prep, Highfield puts its energy into understanding the aspirations of every single child.” A wonderful recognition of what makes Highfield so special. #HighfieldSchool #IndependentSchool #Liphook #TatlerSchoolsGuide2027 #TatlerSchools
Only a few more days until we welcome everyone back to Highfield! As we prepare to begin our next chapter as Highfield School, we’re also looking forward to opening our doors for our first Open Morning of the term. If you’re considering Highfield for your family, we’d love you to come and spend the morning with us. If you’re already part of our Highfield community and know someone who might love it here too, please spread the word and invite them along. 🔗Book your place via the link in our bio.
Ending the week on a high! We’re incredibly proud to be one of just five schools shortlisted in the Pastoral Care and Wellbeing category of the @talkeducation Awards for Innovation in Education 2026! 👏 To be recognised for something so central to who we are as a school, alongside others doing such important work in this area, is a wonderful honour. We’ll find out the result on Thursday 10 September, so until then, keep everything crossed for us. 🤞 Read more via the link in our bio. #HighfieldSchool #TalkEducation #TalkEducationAwards #PastoralCare #PupilWellbeing
Happy Friday, everyone! As we get everything ready to welcome our children and families back next week, we’re delighted to end the week on a high… Highfield School has been shortlisted in the Pastoral Care and Wellbeing category of the Talk Education Awards for Innovation in Education 2026! 👏 This recognition celebrates our whole-community approach to wellbeing and the care our staff show every day to ensure that every child is known and supported. We’re incredibly proud to be one of just five schools shortlisted in this category. The winners will be announced on Thursday 10 September. Keep everything crossed for us! 🤞
We’re in The Times! @thetimes 🗞️ Our Head of Pre-Prep and Early Years, Georgie Hunter, shares her expertise in a thoughtful piece about helping August-born children thrive in Reception, with Highfield parent Olivia Watkins also offering her perspective as a mum. As Georgie explains, what matters most is seeing the individual child, rather than making assumptions based on their birthday. Read more via the link in our bio
Over the past few weeks, we’ve loved sharing our next chapter as Highfield School with you. Alongside our new look, we’ve also been thinking carefully about how we share school life here. As the digital world evolves, we’re adapting our approach to sharing photographs and videos, with the privacy of the children in our care at its heart. This means we’re moving away from publishing clear, identifiable photos of children’s faces on our public digital channels. We know how much you love seeing your child in a school photograph. Those glimpses into their day matter, especially when they capture moments you can’t be there for. You’ll still see plenty of life at Highfield here, as we find creative ways to capture the moments that make our school so special. There is so much to share, and we’re looking forward to showing it to you through a slightly different lens. Please do take a few minutes to read our blog. This is an important change for our school community, and the article explains why we’re making it and what it means for the photographs you’ll see and receive.
We’re incredibly proud of our maths and sports teacher, @sumattingly, who has been representing South Africa at the Masters Hockey World Cup in Belgium! 🏑 Three World Cups and still loving the game she first played at school. Who better to inspire our next generation of hockey players here at Highfield? 🔗Read more about Su’s World Cup experience via the link in our bio.
When is a summer-born child ready to start school? It’s a question many families find themselves considering. We’re delighted to see Highfield featured in The Times in a thoughtful piece about helping August-born children thrive as they start Reception. Our Head of Pre-Prep and Early Years, Georgie Hunter, shares her expertise, while Highfield parent Olivia Watkins offers her perspective as a mum. As Georgie explains, what matters most is seeing the individual child in front of us, rather than making assumptions based on when they were born. 👉 Read the full article below.
And here it is… our new Highfield School logo. 🗝️💚 A new identity for the next chapter of our story, rooted in more than a century of Highfield history. At its heart are our familiar cross keys, a symbol that has been part of Highfield for generations, now enclosed within a circle to represent us coming together as one. One Story. One Purpose. One Highfield.
And here it is… our new Highfield School logo. 🗝️💚 A new identity for the next chapter of our story, rooted in more than a century of Highfield history. At its heart are our familiar cross keys, a symbol that has been part of Highfield for generations, now enclosed within a circle to represent us coming together as one. One Story. One Purpose. One Highfield.