THE IRONY that Liphook’s new all-weather pitch was delayed by bad weather, and has opened at a time when there are few pupils able to use it, is not lost on Highfield School’s headteacher Phillip Evitt.

But after a long wait, having begun construction in August last year, Highfield and Brookham Schools’ new flood-lit all-weather area is finally open – and soon to be available for sports clubs, schools and the wider community to use.

Haslemere Hockey Club and Liphook Football Club are among those to have already expressed an interest.

Mr Evitt said: “This is something that has been in the making for many years and it has certainly been worth the wait – a legacy for future generations.

“However, the irony of the project has not escaped us – the fact the completion of an all-weather pitch had to be delayed because of the weather! And now it is finally complete, we have no children in the school to use it.”

As well as children of the schools’ parents who are key workers, one person has been able to make use of it – Molly Fairburn, a current England under-18 hockey player.

Molly left Highfield and Brookham Schools in July 2016 and went on to Canford School in Wimborne. She starts playing for England next month.

But Highfield and Brookham is where her love for sport first started and during lockdown, following all social-distancing guidelines, she has been using the pitch with her father to keep up her practice.

Molly said: “Sport, particularly hockey, was a big part of my life at Highfield and Brookham and I have so many happy memories of being part of a team there. The pitch is a fantastic addition.”

The all-weather pitch can be used not only for hockey, but for a full range of sports.

Its construction is the start of the implementation of Highfield and Brookham’s Whole Estate Plan – one of the first such plans endorsed by the South Downs National Park, and the first estate with a school.

See highfieldandbrookham.co.uk for details.