Highfield’s Bonfire Night celebrations raise £1,453 for Highreach Holidays

Highfield School families gathered for a spectacular evening of fireworks on Saturday 7 November, raising £1,451 for Highfield Highreach Holidays.

A much-loved highlight of the autumn term, the annual celebration at the independent day and boarding school in Liphook, on the Sussex borders, showed what can be achieved when the school community comes together.

The proceeds will help fund week-long residential breaks at Highfield for children and young adults with disabilities, giving their families crucial respite. Run by volunteers, including former Highfield pupils, Highreach reflects a commitment to supporting others that continues long after pupils leave the school.

In the lead-up to the event, pupils worked together to create mythical creatures incorporating their house colours for the annual bonfire competition. The school’s grounds team judged the entries, with Agincourt, one of Highfield’s three school houses, taking this year’s honours before all the creations joined the bonfire.

Families enjoyed food ranging from hotdogs to churros before Titanium Fireworks, the company behind London’s New Year’s Eve displays, delivered a spectacular show above the school.

Suzannah Cryer, Head of Highfield School, said: “Standing among our families on Saturday night, watching children’s faces light up as the first fireworks burst overhead, I felt incredibly proud of this community. An evening like this depends on so much work that most people never see, from our grounds team spending weeks building up the bonfire and our estates team thinking through every detail from safety to parking, to our catering team working long before the first hotdog was served.

“I’m so grateful to them for making the evening possible, and to every family who came along and supported it. Highreach is very close to our hearts at Highfield, and it means a great deal that an evening enjoyed by our own community will also make a real difference to others.”