Highlands School is one of the first in the country to have been built under a Private Finance Initiative. The London Borough of Enfield first identified a need for a new secondary school in the late 1960s but was unable to raise enough funds to undertake such a large project, even though the community had grown significantly. However, with the introduction of PFI, the borough was given an opportunity to achieve its goal.

Working in partnership with John Laing, the local education authority (LEA) was finally able to have a fully functional new school that services the local community as well as providing the best facilities for its students. John Laing took on the responsibility of providing the finance and designed and built the facilities exactly to LEA specifications.