Our history
In 1945, Mrs Cicely Wightman started a small school based out of her home in Strickland Avenue, Lindfield. Initially the school was called Playways and was established with just eight students, including her son, John Wightman. Mrs Wightman was renowned for the way she communicated with children and her love and respect for children shaped the beginnings of what would become Highfields School. Without knowing it, Mrs Wightman set the school on a trajectory that continues today – known in the community as a school that values children’s voices, learning and contributions to the life of the school. Her love of literature and passion for the three R’s (reading, writing and arithmetic) ensured the school gained credibility from its earliest days, offering a distinct educational choice for families on the North Shore of Sydney. The school grew under her care and in no time it had outgrown her home in Strickland Avenue.
The first geographical move for the school was to the local St Albans Church Hall. A year later, in 1948, the school was on the move again, this time to new site at 1 Highfield Road which Mrs Wightman bought at auction for the princely sum of 7000 pounds. The home served as both Mrs Wightman’s home and the school building. It’s location led to the renaming of the school and Highfields remained in this location for 39 proud years. Mrs Wightman continued as Principal until 1978. After her retirement, the school was established as a Limited Company and a process began to purchase the property from Mrs Wightman.
Times were hard in the years after Mrs Wightman’s retirement and the school struggled to keep its doors open. In 1982, when Mrs Jenifer McDermott joined Highfields as Principal and teacher, 1 Highfield Road was in disrepair and enrolments were dwindling. Mrs McDermott stories about this time in the school’s history make current students laugh, as she recalls the rainy days with multiple buckets positioned around the school to catch the water pouring in from the leaking roof. Not to mention, her retellings of the adventures of the pesky possums in the roof!
Mrs McDermott was not deterred by what she found. She recognised what Highfields had to offer and was passionate to see the school find its feet again. Her determination to breathe new life into Mrs Wightman’s intentions, marked her visionary leadership in the school. She worked tirelessly to build enrolments and worked closely with the School Council to raise funds that would ensure Highfields had a hopeful future. According to her staff at the time, she squeezed every penny out of every possible corner, to have the money needed to acquire a new campus for the school.
In 1987, Mrs McDermott’s hopes were realised. With her vision now set to build a larger school for the growing number of Highfielders, and with the support of the School Council, land was purchased at 16-18 Highfield Road, offering the opportunity to build a school purposed for children. In November of 1988, Mrs Wightman returned to proudly open the new school grounds. Mrs McDermott reported that Mrs Wightman was thrilled to see that the school she had begun was still flourishing and embodied all the beliefs and principles she had so strongly encouraged at the beginning. Her death in April 1991, marked the end of an era in the history of Highfields School.
Mrs McDermott added to Mrs Wightman’s hopes by adding her own distinctive flavour and commitments to the history of Highfields. Her love of music, and value for the arts, filtered through to the children in a myriad of ways. Each day the students would be welcomed by a different type of music playing from the school verandah.
It was under Mrs McDermott’s watchful eye that the school began to articulate and make visible its unique offering for children from three to eight years olds. Highfields became synonymous with rich authentic learning, through hands-on experiences. The natural setting of the school lent itself easily to outdoor classrooms. School pets were introduced and the climbing of trees was encouraged, for boys and girls! Mrs McDermott, well ahead of her time, designed the Highfields’ uniform with gender neutral choices, so girls and boys could be equally involved in active play. Taking risks and having a go were considered normal parts of daily life at school and positive relationships were at the heart of all aspects of school life.
Mrs McDermott carried high expectations for what young children could do, think and care about. She expected great things, and year after year, story after story, Highfields established a long-standing testimony to young children’s extraordinary (and often underestimated) capacity to learn, connect and positively influence their world.
In 1998, Mrs McDermott retired, making way for Highfields next Principal, Mrs Jan North, to make her mark on the school’s history. Mrs North continued the school’s strong legacy, at the same time as adding to the story her passion for educational research to the school. Mrs North strengthened the school’s educational approach as she made tangible connections between the school’s already rigorous practice with the latest theoretical breakthroughs in high quality education for children. Mrs North introduced inquiry based project work to the school, with teachers positioned to work alongside students to co-research theories and develop understanding through active engagement with the learning process.
Significant change to the day to day structuring of K-2 was also brought about during Mrs North’s tenure. With a strong commitment to collaborative practice, Mrs North shifted the school towards a collaborative and innovative teaching approach that would shape Highfields’ future. This new approach offered students a bespoke, responsive and second-to-none approach to learning for children in the early years of school. She intentionally brought together thinking from both early childhood and wider educational thinkers, developing a Highfields’ approach to teaching and learning that leveraged off the strengths of both these theoretical and philosophical frameworks.
Mrs North’s uncompromising commitment to small group, hand-on research in the context of meaningful relationships, led to a ground-breaking shift in approach, specifically for the K-2 classes. From 2001, each year level was split into two classes, halving the group size and transforming the teacher to student ratio at Highfields. Additional staff were employed as new teams were established to oversee each year level. From 1 teacher to 32 children, Highfields now offered (and continues to offer) a ratio of 1 teacher to approximately 16 students, with each grade supported daily by a teaching assistant.
Highfields’ collaborative, non-competitive learning culture was also championed by Mrs North. Extrinsic rewards, such as stickers and certificates, were replaced by teaching strategies that encouraged children to develop intrinsic motivation. Children were invited to shape the school culture with their teachers, recognised as significant members of the community with rights and responsibilities. Community expectations replaced school rules, and were co-written with students; and when changes were made in the school, the children were invited as authentic decision makers and designers in the process.
In 2002, Mrs North made the difficult decision to return to her work at the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children. The school was saddened by Mrs North’s departure but was equally delighted to discover Mrs Deborah Cook, one of the school’s well-loved and highly respected teachers had been appointed as Highfields’ next Principal. Mrs Cook’s transition into the Principal’s role was ideal, ensuring the work of the school continued to grow from strength to strength. As one of the key teachers who had been responsible for overseeing the introduction of the collaborative and inquiry based approach to teaching and learning, Mrs Cook was perfectly positioned to lead her team to continue the work that had begun under Mrs North.
To this day, Mrs Cook has continued the work of each of the previous principals, tirelessly sustaining and building from the qualities and values that uniquely characterise Highfields School. Mrs Cook promotes an open-door policy facilitating a high level of parental involvement throughout the school. Her warmth, professionalism and commitment to excellence is matched by a vision that every Highfielder become an independent, self-directed, and confident person, able to navigate the world with self-assurance and personal integrity.
From 8 students in 1948, working out of Mrs Wightman’s home, Highfields now celebrates an enrolment of 196 children from Preschool through to Year 2. No longer busy buying buckets, fixing leaks and evicting possums, Highfields’ educational hopes are continually being reimagined in light of best research and practice and plans are in action for the continual maintenance, design and development of the stunning school site, that remains at 18 Highfield Road in Lindfield. The future is bright for Highfields, lit up by the years that have gone before.