Highfield and Brookham School Head proud of Senior School placement success

A thriving independent school in Liphook is celebrating another successful year of populating some of the country’s very best senior schools.

Children who left Highfield and Brookham School at the end of the summer term have now started life at senior schools all over the country, safe in the knowledge that they are well equipped for the next stage in their learning journey.

Leavers from Year 8 – the flourishing nursery, pre-prep and prep school’s most common exit point – and Year 6 enrolled at 26 senior schools between them, from the likes of Eton, Cranleigh, Wellington, Charterhouse, Marlborough and Winchester in the south all the way up to Gordonstoun on the edge of the Scottish Highlands.

As well as having an impressive geographical reach, Highfield and Brookham meets the specific need of families who seek a particular type of school for their children, serving as it does day and boarding schools, same sex and co-ed schools, and local and far-flung schools.

One of Highfield and Brookham’s big strengths is that it is family owned rather than being owned by a trust or being allied to a particular senior school, which means it has the flexibility to send its pupils on to a wider range of schools, therefore giving parents a much greater choice in terms of school type and location and fitting in with the diverse needs of modern families.

That has resulted in a huge amount of trust being built up between Highfield and Brookham and a wealth of senior schools who know that they will get young people who are well prepared for life at the next educational level. And that level of trust has also helped Highfield and Brookham earn a strong reputation for securing places for its pupils at their first-choice schools.

It’s also a reason why international pupils choose to head to Liphook to study as they leave well prepared from a language, point of entry and cultural point of view, something which appeals to senior schools.

Suzannah Cryer, Head of Highfield and Brookham School, which occupies 175-acre grounds on the rural borders of Hampshire, Surrey and West Sussex, said: “This time of the year is always tinged with sadness and excitement; it’s sad to see the children leave that we have really got to know and seen develop, mature and grow during their time with us, but it’s also incredibly exciting to think of the possibilities and opportunities that await them at senior school and beyond. We know they leave us well prepared and will be a real asset to their new schools.”

Considering the seemingly endless debate of whether there is more benefit to a preparatory school education or learning at an all-through school, Mrs Cryer cited Highfield and Brookham’s success at placing its leavers as a significant plus in the prep school argument. 

“Moving to a senior school at the age of 13 brings with it a new set of challenges and engages pupils further. Being at a prep school also offers an awful lot of flexibility for families as a school chosen for a four-year-old child may not be suitable for them by the time they reach 13. Children can also continue to be children for longer without the pressures and influences associated with rubbing shoulders with much older children.

“This approach works for us, it works for our parents and children and, judging by our healthy relationship with so many top senior schools, it seems to work for them too.”