Admissions and Fees
Children are welcome to join Highfield and Brookham School at any stage and at any point throughout the year. We do recommend you register your child at the earliest opportunity so we can ensure that we have a place available. Our Admissions Registrar will guide you through the joining process to ensure that your child is warmly welcomed.
Highfield and Brookham is broadly non-selective and takes pupils with a range of abilities, which we believe is an essential element of our strength and gives our school great character. Children generally need to be of national average academic ability, but the ‘whole child’ is always considered. Our admissions process is designed to identify pupils who will benefit from our balanced and well-rounded education and make a positive contribution toward school life. For children moving from other schools, the emphasis is on their performance and conduct at their current school and the comments of their Headteachers. We like to offer all children a trial day so they can get a feel for us and us for them. There are no formal written assessments.
Admissions Process
Early Years Foundation Stage (Nursery and Reception)
Children can join our Nursery from the moment they turn two years of age. Our Nursery operates 34 weeks of the year. Children joining our Nursery in Tiny Bears or Little Bears must attend a minimum of two mornings per week. To help prepare them for the transition up to Reception, children in Big Bears must attend a minimum of three mornings per week, with lunch.
Children are admitted to Reception the academic year in which they turn five years old without any formal assessment. Though Reception is full time, we offer Friday afternoons as a flexible session, as some of the children are very tired by the end of the week.
Pre-Prep (Year 1 and Year 2)
12 to 18 months before admission, registered children will be invited to a taster day. During their visit the child will be informally assessed in literacy and maths and observations will be taken and recorded. The Head of your child’s current school may also be asked to provide a reference. Although children joining Year 1 and Year 2 should be of at least national average academic ability, the main focus of our admissions process is to understand the ‘whole child’ and identify pupils who will benefit from our challenging, balanced and well-rounded mainstream education and make a positive contribution towards the life of the school.
Prep (Year 3 to Year 8)
12 to 18 months before admission, registered children will be invited to a taster day. During their visit the child will be informally assessed in literacy, maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning and observations will be taken and recorded. The Head of your child’s current school may also be asked to provide a reference. Although children joining in Year 3 should be of at least national average academic ability, the main focus of our admissions process is to understand the ‘whole child’ and identify pupils who will benefit from our challenging, balanced and well-rounded mainstream education and make a positive contribution towards the life of the school.
International Admissions
We are happy to accept children from overseas with sufficient spoken and written English to be able to participate fully in school life. Visit our Visa Information page to find out which visa you may need.
AGENTS: We enjoy good relationships with a number of agents and we are always happy to hear from agents offering a valued service to families overseas. For more details, visit our Agents Page or contact our Admissions Registrar.
Fees from January 2025
Highfield and Brookham termly fees are outlined below. The fees quoted are inclusive of any applicable taxes. There is a non-refundable registration fee of £150. We offer sibling discounts: second child 2.5%, third child 7.5%, fourth child or more 12.5% for day, weekly and full boarding fees, including Nursery. Sibling discount is only for current pupils and not applicable if any other discount is received. We offer up to 27% discount to military families. Information about our Fees Refund Scheme can be found here.
Nursery
Children joining our Nursery in Tiny Bears or Little Bears must attend a minimum of two mornings per week. To help prepare them for the transition up to Reception, children in Big Bears must attend a minimum of three mornings per week, with lunch.
For example, if you would like your child to attend three mornings per week with lunch, your termly fee would be 3 x £635 = £1,905. An acceptance deposit of £1,000 is required to confirm your place. The acceptance deposit is non-refundable if your child does not take up his/her place at the school, or does not continue from Nursery at least until the first term of Reception.
Nursery fees are billed termly in advance but additional sessions can be booked which are billed in arrears. We accept Tax Free Childcare Vouchers and Employer Childcare Vouchers as part payment toward Nursery fees.
*Free Entitlement is only available for afternoon sessions. It must be claimed at the beginning of each term, it can’t be claimed in lieu.
Pre-Prep
*£4,330 with 15 hours free entitlement
An acceptance deposit of £1,000 is required to confirm your place.
International supplement (including visa sponsorship):
EU/EEA: £400 supplement per term
Rest of world: £800 supplement per term
Prep
An acceptance deposit of £1,000 is required to confirm your place.
International supplement (including visa sponsorship):
EU/EEA: £400 supplement per term
Rest of world: £800 supplement per term
