Together we learn

Our Nursery

For many children, attending Nursery is the first time they spend significant time away from home. For that reason it is vital that the setting they attend makes them feel happy, secure and valued. Furthermore it is such an important time for your child to develop learning characteristics that will set them up for their educational journey ahead. It is where it all begins and a time of limitless exploration and growth. These early years are fundamental to embed learning habits and develop confidence.

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. Our vision is to teach children to collaborate, to be resourceful and to take charge of their own learning and to provide a welcoming environment in which to do so. We plan a curriculum that cultivates good habits and attitudes that will enable your child to become an eager and courageous learner. As your child progresses through the Nursery years, they will develop into a tenacious, imaginative and logical child who is self-aware, collaborative and inquisitive. The foundations of all of these traits are put in place from the moment your child walks through the Nursery door for the very first time. Above all, we aim to make your child’s time in Nursery a joyous experience. During their time with us their imagination will grow, their thoughts will become more complex and their understanding of the world around will unfold. The aim of our Nursery is to instil a love of learning that will set them up for the rest of their life.

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Core Education

Our Nursery timetable is predominantly led by the children’s interests and is made up of mainly child-led learning time as well as forest school. Our expert Nursery Practitioners curate a wide range of activities for your child to engage with to help them develop prime development areas:

Communication and language
Physical development
Personal, social and emotional development
Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the world
Expressive arts and design

At Highfield and Brookham, we pride ourselves on our impressive breadth of curriculum, supplying your child with plenty of new skills to discover. Alongside your child’s core education, they will be taught by our specialist subject teachers in swimming, PE, gymnastics, music and Spanish.

Child-initiated

Here at Highfield and Brookham, we have a real passion for and belief in child-initiated learning based on extensive research on how young children learn best. Your child will make decisions about what they want to do, where they want to do it, and what resources they will need. Crucially, the teachers participate as play partners identifying learning opportunities and skilfully responding to the children rather than leading the activities. This is all made possible because of our high staff-to-child ratios. It’s only when your child starts to apply independently what they have learnt that we know they have truly understood and engaged with what they have been taught.

We love the nursery and could not be happier that we chose it for our children.

Outdoor Learning

There is a plethora of evidence in support of outdoor learning and at Highfield and Brookham we see the proof of this every single day. Each of our Nursery rooms has direct access to our wonderful Nursery garden, which is fully equipped with a giant sandpit, mud kitchen and vegetable patch. Your child’s imagination will know no bounds as they explore and discover wonderful new things inside and out. Come rain or shine your child will be able to decide to go outdoors whenever they like, and we know that the lure of splashing in puddles or making mud pies means that children want to go outside whatever the weather. This is why waterproofs and wellington boots are staples in the Nursery wardrobe. One of the most popular activities in the garden is growing vegetables. Your child will plant, water and care for a variety of vegetables in the Nursery garden and, best of all, they will also get to harvest the produce and cook it in their very own kitchen.

With 175 acres of beautiful grounds, outdoor learning at Highfield and Brookham really has no limits. Your child will relish their time in their dedicated space at forest school, which is just a stone’s throw from their classroom door. Here they are free to explore and roam in our wondrous woodland as they hunt for the most magical minibeasts, build the most extravagant dens and craft the most elaborate leaf crowns. We want to engender a love of wildlife and respect for the natural environment in your child.

Free Flow

Your child will enjoy the freedom of free flow across all three of our Nursery rooms for a large proportion of the day. This is where all the children come together and are given the independence to explore their environment. During this time the younger children learn from their older peers, enhancing their language development and communication. Simultaneously, the older children learn valuable skills such as empathy as they take on the position of role models for their younger classmates. This combination of dedicated and shared space is a key factor in your child’s personal, emotional and educational growth.

Open-ended Resources

Our Nursery is purposefully equipped with an exciting variety of open-ended resources for your child to discover. The classrooms are carefully kitted out with blocks, loose parts and modelling resources. A toy fire engine is always a fire engine, but a pile of bricks could be an aeroplane carrying an important guest, a rocket on the hunt for life on mars or even an underground tunnel leading to an undiscovered land. The only limitation is your child’s imagination.

Food

We take food very seriously at Highfield and Brookham and your child will quickly find out why. We hire a fantastic Catering Team who keep your child’s energy at the optimum level so they can fully engage with everything that Nursery has to offer. At 10am your child will enjoy a morning snack on the carpet with their friends. This usually consists of fruit or a slice of our delicious homemade, reduced-sugar banana loaf.

Lunchbreak for our Nursery children is at 11.45am. The Tiny Bears, our very youngest children, enjoy lunch in their room, The Den, before settling down for a much-needed lunchtime nap. Our Little Bears and Big Bears don their gingham smocks and head across the courtyard to the main dining hall. Your child’s lunch is freshly prepared on site by our in-house chefs. Children are served at the table and always have the option to ask for more if they want it.

Mid-afternoon, children gather back on the carpet with the other Nursery children to enjoy a well-earned rest and snack. Cheese and crackers, sandwiches or breadsticks and humous are usually on offer to see them through to tea time.

Rooms

There are three specialist rooms in our Nursery – The Den, Woodlands and Meadows. The Den is home to our youngest cohort, Tiny Bears. This dedicated area, designed especially for our youngest children, allows your child to undertake age-appropriate activities which help them to develop independence, imagination and communication at a pace that is just right for them. Importantly, there is a dedicated space for your child to have their valuable daytime nap if they need it to ensure they are rejuvenated and ready for their afternoon adventures.

At the age of three, and when they are developmentally ready, your child will move up to either Meadows or Woodlands. Both rooms have a managed mix of our Little Bears and Big Bears so they can grow and learn together.

Logistics

Our Nursery is open for 35 weeks of the year. We welcome children from the age of two when they attend for a minimum of two mornings per week. As your child progresses into their final Nursery year, they will attend a minimum of three mornings per week, with lunch. This extended week helps with their readiness for the transition to Reception.

The morning sessions in Nursery run from 8.20am to 11.20am. You can choose for your child to stay for lunch, which the children take in our main dining hall at 11.45am. Collection is after lunch is at 12.20pm or 3.20pm if your child is staying for the full day.

Your child may attend on any days of the week where we have availability, and in any combination of morning, morning with lunch and full day sessions, up to full time, five days a week.

The Nursery Week

7.30am Breakfast club (Optional £)
8am Before-school care
8.20am Doors open
11.45am Lunch break

3.20pm School day ends
3.30pm After-school care (Optional £)
4.30pm Picnic tea and play (Optional £)
6.30pm Last pick up

Drop off

The doors to our Nursery are open for children at 8.20am. We know and completely understand that mornings can be busy for many families, with parents juggling school drop off, work and other commitments. It’s important that your child’s start to the day is calm and stress free to set them up for a successful say of learning. That’s why we offer an earlier 8am drop off option for those families who need it, at no extra charge.

Many of our families make use of our breakfast club, which opens for our Nursery children at 7.30am. Breakfast Club takes place in the main dining hall and your child will be spoilt for choice for what to have for breakfast. There is always a hot option such as beans on toast as well cereal, porridge, yoghurt, toast and fresh fruit. A truly hearty breakfast to kickstart them for their busy day in Nursery.

After School

The Nursery day draws to a close at 3.20pm. We have excellent after-school care provision that covers you if you need a later pick up.

As part of the after-school care programme, your child will have a fantastic choice of games and activities at their disposal. After-school care runs until 4.30pm.

For those families who need a later collection time we offer our ‘picnic tea and play’ session. A high tea will be served at 5pm with a selection of sandwiches, crudités, fromage frais and fruit on offer. Your child will be looked after until 6.30pm if required.

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Pre-Prep

Prep School

Admissions

What we’re up to

22 hours ago

The rugby season kicked off in fine style today as we welcomed our friends from Feltonfleet School, Seaford College, St. Edmund’s School, Surrey and Amesbury School for some heartwarming matches full of skill, passion and excellent sportsmanship on a bitterly cold day. With 12 rugby pitches at our disposal and the ability to put out 17 teams, it promises to be a busy and exciting season. We can’t wait! #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex

22 hours ago

It was a day for brave hearts and steely determination on the netball court as our U11 girls went toe to toe with our friends from @hoebridgeschool in plummeting temperatures. Despite the bitter wind, both teams warmed the watching parents with some astute passing and moving, fine shooting, great teamwork and perseverance. Well done, girls! #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #Netball

411

2 days ago

Our Year 2 children have discovered that adding exciting adjectives and interesting verbs can really bring their stories to life. Describing scenes from their class text, the children created simple noun phrases before adding colourful descriptions to add real depth and an extra dimension to their literacy tales. It was wonderful to see the children really thinking about the construction of their stories and not being afraid to be creative to make them more appealing. #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex

330

2 days ago

We were treated to another wonderful cushion concert today, featuring three soloists, two violinists, one flautist and a pianist. The children introduced their pieces to parents and friends before finishing their performances with a professional bow, all the time building their confidence playing to a small but select audience. #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #Music #CushionConcert

3 days ago

We’re delighted to have received another glowing report after a spot check by Food Standards Agency inspectors. Looking at how our highly-skilled kitchen staff handle food, how food is stored and prepared, cleanliness of facilities and how food safety is managed, the inspectors awarded us a maximum five-star hygiene rating with no recommendations or advisory notes. #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex

172

3 days ago

Our boarding sleuths have put their critical-thinking skills to good use to meet a fiendish challenge presented by @exciting_escapes. Working together in teams of four, the children were tasked with finding hidden diamonds before a timer ran out and left them locked in their escape room. Luckily, the undaunted children were able to call on the key life skills that underpin their lessons at school every single day to make good their escape; evaluating information to make reasoned judgments and decisions, questioning assumptions, and making connections between group-based ideas. #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #CriticalThinking #ProblemSolving #LifeSkills

500

6 days ago

The rock choir are tuning up their festive voices, the stallholders are putting the final touches to their colourful stalls and the food and drink is being prepared, so we’re almost set for our luxury Christmas shopping evening. We’re open until 8pm, so feel free to join us and get into the festive spirit! #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #ChristmasShopping

681

6 days ago

We’ve had a fun day raising money for Children In Need, with our Year 8 cohort showing what great leaders and entrepreneurs we have on our hands. All children could wear home clothes for the day in return for a £2 donation, which included fun activities dreamed up, organised and run by the oldest prep school pupils. #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #ChildrenInNeed

110

7 days ago

Our Lower Prep children had an absolute ball this afternoon, with the U8 boys kicking off their tag rugby season against Cranleigh Prep and the girls taking to the netball courts for some terrific matches against Edgeborough School. As always, great commitment, skilful play and amazing sportsmanship were evident in equal measure. #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex

170

7 days ago

We are so looking forward to our Luxury Christmas Shopping tomorrow evening! With stalls from some of the very best local businesses, it’s the perfect opportunity to hunt out those unique and special gifts. We’ve got tasty seasonal food and drink available and there will be festive tunes courtesy of @thecadettestrio. If you’ve not yet booked, do head to the link in our bio to reserve your place and collect your FREE shopping bag on the night. #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex

210

7 days ago

Our pupils learn from a young age that to work through things methodically and effectively, it’s important to get all your ducks in a row. This level of preparation and foresight really stands the children in good stead as they progress through school. #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex

320

1 weeks ago

At Highfield and Brookham, kindness isn’t just a word – it’s one of our core values and way of life. Today, we celebrate #worldkindnessday2024 knowing that small acts of kindness make such a big difference. Whether it’s helping a friend, sharing a smile or lending a hand, our pupils are learning that kindness is the foundation of a strong and supportive community. #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #AutumnTerm #worldkindnessday2024 #bekind #worldkindessday

550

1 weeks ago

Are you looking for fun and educational activities for your children to do in the run up to Christmas whilst you crack on with the festive preparations? We have just the thing! ➡️bit.ly/3ArzOtC

1 weeks ago

We’re delighted to share this wonderful story of kindness about the return of one of our much-loved library books. Read the full story ⬇️

120

1 weeks ago

The Highfield and Brookham community was treated to a spectacular bonfire firework display last Saturday. Huge thanks to our fabulous catering, grounds and maintenance teams for their immense hard work in making this special event run so smoothly. Profits from the sales of food and drink and merchandise will be generously donated to Highreach Holidays. #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #AutumnTerm #bonfirenight #fireworks

1461

1 weeks ago

We have today paid homage to the brave Old Highfieldians who fell in the service of their country during the two world wars. The poignant Act of Remembrance was led by Mrs Cryer, our Head, who read out the names of the fallen alongside her husband, Bob. Music teacher Mr Withell sounded The Last Post before the whole school fell silent for two minutes of sombre reflection. We will remember them. #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #ActOfRemembrance

220

1 weeks ago

Lest we ever forget. #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #ActOfRemembrance

650

2 weeks ago

Guided by the incredible @handlebards, Year 7 jumped headfirst into the world of Shakespeare with an interactive workshop focused on the dark and mysterious tale of Macbeth. This hands-on experience really boosted their understanding of this wonderful play, building confidence in their acting and performance skills ready for their forthcoming performance as part of the @cssf_uk Shakespeare’s School’s Festival.

150

2 weeks ago

Year 7 and Year 8 were treated to an amazing performance of Macbeth by the fabulous @handlebards. The audience were mesmerised as the cast of two played all the roles in the play, well, almost all, a couple of lucky children did join them on stage to help with a couple of scenes! #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #macbeth #shakespeare

411

2 weeks ago

Our Year 8 pupils have been continuing with one of their favourite art projects – the identity canvas. Having previously worked on designs which reflect their personalities and their time at school, using words, pictures and logos, the children added a dash of colour this week to their blank canvases which, once dried, will form the backdrop for their artistic creations. #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #Art

100

2 weeks ago

As well as being busy working toward their exams, considering senior school options and applying for pupil leadership roles, our Upper Prep school children are also key ambassadors for the school. For example, did you know that the older pupils play a vital role touring prospective families during our regular open mornings? Their infectious enthusiasm, honesty, integrity and heartfelt love of school life earns much praise from our visitors. #TogetherWeGrow #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #PrepSchool #PrePrepSchool #Nursery #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex

390

2 weeks ago

When our children work together they have all the ingredients they need to succeed – and to make tasty apple cake! #TogetherWeGrow #Nursery #PrePrepSchool #PrepSchool #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #Collaboration

440

2 weeks ago

It may have been grey, damp and cool, but some exciting action on the football and hockey pitches certainly warmed up the watching parents as we welcomed our friends from Twyford School, Hampshire for another entertaining afternoon of sport. Well played, everyone! #Nursery #PrePrepSchool #PrepSchool #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex

130

2 weeks ago

Nurtured by specialist music teachers, our children have the opportunity to play a wide range of musical instruments from a very young age, including violin, piano, flute, drums, oboe and guitar. #Nursery #PrePrepSchool #PrepSchool #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #Music

340

2 weeks ago

The correlation between a healthy sleep regime and a healthy mind and body and increased performance in school came under scrutiny as our children marked Better Sleep Week. #Nursery #PrePrepSchool #PrepSchool #IndependentSchool #PrivateSchool #BoardingSchool #Liphook #Hampshire #Surrey #WestSussex #BetterSleepWeek

160

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Together we learn

Nursery

Our Nursery

Core Education

Child-initiated

Outdoor Learning

Free Flow

Open-ended Resources

Food

Rooms

Logistics

Drop off

After School

Pre-Prep

Prep School

Admissions

What we’re up to

view all news

view all news

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