Highfield and Brookham School’s annual fireworks display in Liphook lit up the sky and provided a significant boost for a good cause. The Bonfire Night event, which drew hundreds of attendees, raised an impressive £2,100 through food and drink sales and generous donations from the community.

The money will go to Highfield Highreach Holidays, a charity founded in 2018, offering week-long residential holidays for children and young adults aged eight to 16 with learning difficulties, physical disabilities, and medical conditions. Hosted at Highfield and Brookham School, the charity covers half the cost for families, providing a vital and affordable respite for caregivers and a memorable experience for the children.

Headteacher Suzannah Cryer thanked the grounds team who built the fire and the children who “lovingly and painstakingly made” the effigies that crowned it.

She added:“The upshot was that we raised more than £2,000 for Highreach, our inspirational charity which provides a week-long summer holiday every year for children with disabilities. The money will ensure that Highreach continues to give these inspiring children the opportunity to make memories that will last a lifetime.”

The fireworks display was described as ‘spectacular’, complete with the tradition of the annual house competition. Pupils from Agincourt, Trafalgar, and Waterloo houses competed to create the most impressive ‘Guy’, with Waterloo House taking this year’s honour. Their creation proudly crowned the bonfire before meeting its fiery fate.

Highreach Holidays relies on ongoing fundraising initiatives and the support of volunteers, including former pupils, to keep costs low. It was rated “outstanding” by Ofsted after an inspection in 2022.

“Bonfire Night is always a popular date in the school calendar, for both our children and the wider community who come to join us, and this year was no exception,” Cryer added.