Highfield and Brookham Schools hosts respite holiday

From 6^th to 8^th August, Highfield and Brookham Schools in Liphook welcomed 15 children and young adults for their annual Highfield Highreach Holiday. Sadly, this year because of Covid-19 the usual residential respite holiday could not go ahead. However, that did not stop the 35 passionate volunteers rallying together to offer three days of onsite activities for the children and young adults aged 12 – 18 from across Surrey, Hampshire, West Sussex and Oxfordshire.

Highfield Highreach Holidays is a small volunteer-run organisation that provides a week-long residential holiday for children and young adults, aged 8 -18 years old, with a range of learning difficulties, who may also have physical disabilities or medical conditions. It allows them to enjoy an incredible week full of memorable experiences in the safe environment of Highfield and Brookham Schools. It also provides crucial respite for the families of these children. The organisation also accommodates those families who cannot afford the high price of many commercial respite care schemes. Costs are kept low by raising funds to cover more than 50% of the cost of the holidays, and because all of the staff are volunteers.

The families and carers of the holiday makers have the opportunity to reset. They take time to do things that we may take for granted. Last year, one set of parents went on holiday for the first time in 20 years, another took their other children to the cinema and out for dinner.

Although the usual week-long holiday could not happen, the three days still allowed families to have some respite which was especially welcome after weeks of lockdown due to Covid-19. The Highreach Holiday makers enjoyed three enriching days of bushcraft, swimming, big outdoor art, as well as a special visit from Adam The Magic Music Man.

Phillip Evitt, Headmaster of Highfield School, says “Highfield and Brookham is blessed to be set in 175 acres of glorious South Downs countryside and boasts wonderful facilities and academic success but, at the core of the school and, what makes our heart beat hardest, is the ethos and beliefs that makes us truly unique. We teach our pupils to ‘give back’, to be ‘outward looking’ and never is this more tangible than during our extraordinary Highfield Highreach Holiday where we saw 15 Old Highfieldians volunteer.”

To find out more about Highfield Highreach Holidays and the experiences it provides please visit highfieldschool.org.uk/extra-dimensions/highreach-holidays