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Prep School
Our Prep School
Our Prep school education is more than just preparing your child for their time at senior school. It is a time for challenge, excitement and fun. It is a period of discovery, where your child will determine who they want to be while they are cared for in a safe and secure environment. We are an independent co-educational day and boarding school for children aged 8-13. We’re located in 175 acres of stunning grounds within the South Downs National Park in Liphook, and welcome families from across Hampshire, West Sussex and Surrey.
Prep school is, of course, a time of assessment and exams. This cannot be avoided. However, our exceptional teachers will carefully manage this time. They will ensure your child doesn’t simply focus on this part of their educational journey. It’s important that we work together to ensure that their love of learning remains and their carefully nurtured flame is not extinguished.
The process of self-discovery that your child will go through will also lead them to important points such as senior school applications. Our highly-experienced Senior Leadership Team will guide you through this journey. A Highfield and Brookham education gifts you exceptional choice as we feed more than 30 of the top day and boarding senior schools in the country. This means we can help your child find the right school for them. We have made the progressive decision to move away from the full Common Entrance syllabus but remain with Common Entrance in the core subjects. This has allowed us to create a bespoke curriculum that focuses on the essential skills that we know senior schools and future employers are seeking in young adults. Our promise to you is that your child will leave Year 8 as an adaptable, resilient and independent young person ready for the world ahead.
An excellent and very broad educational experience, combined with first-class pastoral care, great facilities in a wonderfully inspiring location.
Lessons
Our Prep school timetable is a one-week timetable consisting of eight 45-minute lessons a day. To maximise your child’s learning time the timetable has been curated to ensure they move around our specialist facilities in a logical order meaning precious time is spent in lessons rather than moving from one to the next.
To help your child develop the ability to self-critique in a constructive manner they will attend a weekly study skills lesson. Your child will have the opportunity to carry out this new-found skill by reflecting and commenting on their end-of-term progress reports. We provide many real-life opportunities like this for your child to put all of their knowledge and skills into practice. This helps to consolidate their learning as well as give meaning and context to their education.
Our specialist subject teachers in drama, music, games, PE, modern foreign languages, design technology, art and digital literacy teach all Prep school children. Our specialist facilities provide the perfect learning environment for these subjects. In addition, in Year 5 and Year 6 your child will be taught by a subject specialist in science where lessons are conducted in one of our three science labs. They also have an additional new subject added to their timetable – Latin. Our highly-experienced key stage specialist teachers will provide the core teaching in English and maths. By Year 7 your child will be set in all subjects and taught by a subject specialist in all lessons, including wellbeing, geography and history. This ensures your child has experienced the senior school model of teaching before they reach Year 9.
To allow your child to have a focused conclusion to their learning, the day will end in the same way it began – with their form teacher. This is a crucial cog in our exceptional pastoral wheel. It allows the teacher who knows your child best to touch base with them to ensure the day delivered all it had promised. And it allows them to support your child if things didn’t quite go to plan.
There are 21 Saturdays in the academic year where children in Year 5 and above attend school, with Year 4 attending school on 17 Saturdays. Saturday mornings are filled with curriculum extension activities where children consolidate their learning and stretch their understanding. Saturday afternoons follow the traditional structure of sports fixtures which parents are warmly invited to watch every week.
Food
Growing children need wholesome food which is why we commit to having such a brilliant Catering Department. All of your child’s meals are seasonally planned, freshly prepared and cooked on site. Morning break is at 10am – the same time for all children in the school. To ensure your child is fuelled appropriately so they can fully engage with their morning lessons they will be served a carbohydrate-based snack. This will provide them with a slow release of energy to keep them focused until lunch.
Lunch break for our Prep school children is at 12.45pm. Lunch service is staggered to ensure the dining hall feels a welcoming place for your child to eat lunch with their friends. The time your child will be called for lunch rotates throughout the week, so sometimes they will eat first and then enjoy the fresh air and sometimes the other way around. Lunch is canteen style with a wide range of tasty and nutritious food on offer to cater for all tastes. There are always hot and cold options, with plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables and salads. Our bespoke menus operate on a three-week rotation and there is always a vegetarian option for those who choose to go meat free. Our aim is to feed your child but also to educate them about healthy choices and responsible eating. For example, when sweet treats and puddings are available our aim is to use reduced sugar and healthy alternatives.
To give your child that energy boost they need to see them through to the end of the day they are offered a snack during afternoon break at 3.15pm. Our approach to food is to ensure that your child has the correct levels of energy to perform well inside and outside of the classroom throughout the day.
Logistics
The Prep School Day
- 7.30am breakfast club (optional for day children £)
- 8am Gates open
- 8.20am Registration
- 10.30 am Morning break
- 12.40pm Lunch break
- 3.35pm Afternoon break
- 4.40pm school day ends
- 4.40pm After school clubs (optional)
- 5.50pm Clubs end
- 5.30pm Prep (optional for day children £)
- 6.30pm Supper (optional for day children £)
- 7pm Boarders’ evening activities
- 8pm Bedtime routine
Drop off
The gates at our Prep school open at 8am ready for the children to spill into their classrooms for 8.20am. Every day starts with 20 minutes of precious form time with your child’s class teacher to ensure they are set for the busy day ahead.
Our boarders enjoy a nourishing breakfast in our dining hall before the school day and our day children are invited to join them from 7.30am if they wish. We know how busy mornings can be so this option is valued by many families. Your child will be spoilt for choice for breakfast. There is always a hot option such as eggs on toast as well as cereal, porridge, yoghurt, toast and fresh fruit to kickstart their day.
After school
The school day finishes at 4.40pm but the fun doesn’t stop there. There is a full programme of after-school clubs which we actively encourage all children to take advantage of. There are four categories of clubs: physical, skill development, academic and artistic. We recommend your child tries one club from each group to fully benefit from our broad range of extra-curricular activities. Some of our clubs are run by our teachers who are passionate about a certain hobby, subject or sports and are free of charge. We also invite external professionals to run clubs such as LAMDA, Gymnastics and Golf, which do incur costs.
We offer Homework Club every day free of charge, so if there isn’t a new club your child wants to try and you need care for them after school they can stay with us until 5.30pm.
At 5.30pm our boarders head off to evening prep before heading into the Dining Hall for their homecooked supper at 6.30pm. Day children are invited to join boarders and can be collected as late as 7pm if family circumstances require it.
What we’re up to…
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
If you’re popping into Tesco Haslemere this month, we’d love a little help! 💙 A blue counter for Haslemere Festival will support the youth music festival we’re working on together. Thanks so much for your support!
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 highlight of the week! 💛 Our children have been back visiting our friends at Liphook Day Centre. Lovely to see everyone enjoying an afternoon together.
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
Stallholder reveal: part two! 🎄 We promised more… and here they are! Say hello to the next wave of fabulous local businesses joining us for our Christmas Shopping Evening at Highfield. Coming along? Don’t forget to register for your free ticket on our website.
Stallholder reveal: part two! 🎄 We promised more… and here they are! Say hello to the next wave of fabulous local businesses joining us for our Christmas Shopping Evening at Highfield. Coming along? Don’t forget to register for your free ticket via the link in our bio. @amyloucooks @adelesnaturalsoaps @naturally_ewe @ottoeditions @agapesophia_ @jagostribe @kim_walsh_handwoven @artby_annabarke @bluelobstercards @abceramics2024 @studionestandnook @littlebear.childrenswear @peacheskitchen26
There’s a particular sound a child makes when they find the right leaf. A little gasp. A “looook!” Then another, and another, until pockets at our Nature Crafting Holiday Club were bursting with leaves of all shapes and sizes. 🍂 Then came the magic! As the children looked closely at every curve and colour, pointy tips became ears, a pale edge a fluffy chin and suddenly a whole family of woodland creatures were looking back at them! A beautiful example of individuality. Don’t you just love them?
There’s a particular sound a child makes when they find the right leaf. A little gasp. A “looook!” Then another, and another, until pockets at our Nature Crafting Holiday Club were bursting with leaves of all shapes and sizes. 🍂 Then came the magic! As the children looked closely at every curve and colour, pointy tips became ears, a pale edge a fluffy chin and suddenly a whole family of woodland creatures were looking back at them! A beautiful example of individuality. Don’t you just love them? #independentschool #holidayclub #naturecraft #creativeart #halfterm
One of the missions today at our Football Holiday Club was a game called Battleships. Knock down all of your own cones as fast as you can to win! Our young players were getting so close, but those last few cones were tricky! They had to figure out a new angle, a different foot or a softer touch. That’s creativity! When Plan A doesn’t work, you invent Plan B… and sometimes Plan C, D, E and F! #independentschool #holidayactivityclub #halfterm #creativethinking #schoolholidays
One of the missions today at our Football Holiday Club was a game called Battleships. Knock down all of your own cones as fast as you can to win! Our young players were getting so close, but those last few cones were tricky! They had to figure out a new angle, a different foot or a softer touch. That’s creativity! When Plan A doesn’t work, you invent Plan B… and sometimes Plan C, D, E and F! #independentschool #holidayactivityclub #halfterm #creativethinking #schoolholidays
