King’s Hawford Celebrates 70th Anniversary
King’s Hawford Prep School has celebrated its 70th anniversary in style, with over eighty guests attending a celebration black tie dinner in ‘The Barn’, the school’s main performance and assembly space, on Saturday night.
The children at the school have also received special commemorative 70th anniversary birthday badges to attach to their sleeve of their uniforms, alongside the activity badges they receive for achievements in their lessons and co-curricular pursuits.
Amongst the guests at Saturday’s glittering event were four of the original pupils from 1955. Joining them were Old Hawfordians, former staff, parents and governors from across the King’s Foundation, members of the founding Garrad family and a number of current parents.
After a welcome address from Headmaster, Tom Butt, guests sat down to a superb three course meal and were treated to further speeches from three former Headmasters. Tony Race addressed the gathering with much humour and heart, while John Allcott and Jim Turner sent video messages to reflect on their time at the helm at Hawford. Charles Garrad, the oldest son of the original founders and himself a former pupil, also spoke and told engaging stories of the school’s very earliest days.
The school, surrounded by idyllic countryside on the outskirts of Worcester, was formerly a private home known as Hawford Lodge, owned by a Dutch diamond merchant. It was transformed into a school by Douglas and Mary Ann Garrad in 1955, before being acquired by the the King’s School, Worcester, Foundation in 1996. It now proudly sits in the Foundation family alongside city-centre Prep School, King’s St Alban’s, and King’s Senior School and Sixth Form.
From its beginnings as a small school of only 15 children, Hawford has blossomed into a happy and hardworking school of over 260, well-known for its commitment to learning outside the classroom and environmental sustainability.
October 2025