Highfield and Brookham Schools again named top prep school in Hampshire for cricket

Highfield and Brookham Schools is delighted to again have been named the top prep school in Hampshire for cricket.

The latest glowing endorsement comes from The Cricketer Schools Guide 2023, which has named the independent school in Liphook among its Top 50 Prep Schools in the UK for the fourth consecutive year.

It follows an exhaustive process which saw a “huge” number of schools – both state-funded and private – submit entries for inclusion in the prestigious guide. All entries were judged against an extensive set of criteria, including a compelling commitment to cricket in the curriculum, facilities, fixture programmes and coaching.

Highfield and Brookham has a strong cricketing tradition and regularly fulfils as many as 230 fixtures in the summer term against rival prep schools from neighbouring Surrey and West Sussex, as well as further afield encompassing the Home Counties.

The school currently fields 38 teams, with the girls’ first XI proudly electing to wear full whites for the first time this year, while the provision of indoor nets has increased from two to three to complement the addition of three new outdoor artificial playing strips.

And the school is set to resume its tour schedule post-Covid with a trip to Barbados next April.

Huw Turbervill, editor of The Cricketer magazine, said: “I’ve read some inspirational stories working on this year’s guide, so congratulations to all of the schools included. We look forward to hearing about all of your future successes.”

As well as representing Highfield and Brookham in external fixtures, many young school cricketers also play for local club sides, including Liphook & Ripsley, Haslemere, Fernhurst and Grayshott, while making full use of the indoor and outdoor nets at Highfield.

Highfield Head Suzannah Cryer said: “Cricket is an important part of the sporting curriculum here at Highfield and Brookham and we are very proud to have been named one of the top prep schools in the country, recognising our fantastic facilities and the dedication of our coaching staff.

“It always fills me with a great sense of pride when I see our boys and girls thoroughly enjoying their sport, and the sound of leather on willow, the ripples of applause from the watching mums and dads and the cries of joy at the taking of a wicket or a smart catch are an integral part of the sporting scene at Highfield and Brookham in the spring and summer.

“So to be named as the top prep school in Hampshire for cricket is an incredibly special honour indeed.”