Teaching Staff at King's Hawford

Tom was educated at The Judd School in Kent before reading Exercise and Sport Sciences at the University of Exeter, where he also studied for his PGCE. Before joining King’s Hawford Tom was Deputy Head at Bredon School near Tewkesbury. Prior to that he was Director of Sport at Dover College and held posts in Chile and Switzerland.

Tom is passionate about the outdoors and enjoys travel and country pursuits, as well as adventure writing, particularly mountaineering. He is a keen sportsman with a particular passion for rugby – captaining Kent at age group level – and mountain biking.

Tom is joined at King’s Hawford by his wife Charlotte, and children Oliver and Millie, their spaniel Saffy and a flock of chickens.

Having trained at Cheltenham, I completed my BEd (Hons) in PE and Humanities in 1996 and went on to spend three years as Head of Girls’ Games at the Downs School, Malvern before moving to Spain to teach at the English School of Asturias. In 2003, I joined the staff of King’s Hawford, working as a Games and Year 4 teacher.

I absolutely love working at Hawford, it is such a vibrant, warm and welcoming place to teach. During my time here, I have taught throughout Key Stages 1 and 2 and coordinated many subjects including RE, PSHCE and Girls’ Games. In 2018 I was appointed Head of Pre-Prep, which then led to me being appointed Deputy Head (Academic) the following year. The past two years have been the most challenging yet rewarding of my career. Helping to lead the school throughout the national lockdowns, introducing new learning platforms and supporting an amazing staff to deliver a first-class education has been a privilege and such an exciting opportunity.

In my free time, I enjoy spending sunny days in my garden, growing and harvesting a variety of fruits and vegetables. I take a keen interest in environmental issues and try hard to use less plastic by shopping for package-free foods. I am also an avid reader; my favourite authors include Edith Wharton, Arthur C. Clarke and Alice Walker. Having played a lot of sport in my youth, my main forms of exercise now consist of yoga and walking my dog Dougal.

After graduating with a degree in Humanities, I spent a very enjoyable period in London working for one of the professional accountancy bodies in events, PR and political lobbying. On moving to Worcester, I embarked on a 23-year career in recruitment and executive search, including running my own business for a number of years.

Having delivered training and coaching for many years, my desire to move into teaching seemed a natural progression.  I was fortunate to get the opportunity to obtain my PGCE through the School Direct programme whilst working at Hawford and now teach in Year 4. I am also proud to be part of Hawford’s excellent sports coaching team and am an RFU qualified rugby coach.

My own children began their school lives in kindergarten at Hawford and, having watched them develop academically and personally within the Foundation, I also have a strong understanding of King’s from a parental perspective.

Having studied at the University of Worcester, I had the pleasure of teaching in a variety of schools in Worcestershire before embarking on a sabbatical from teaching to travel the world.

I was fortunate enough to combine the two, and spent a very enjoyable time teaching at an all-boys independent school in Australia before embarking on period of sports coaching in America.

Being part of the King’s Hawford is a pleasure. I really enjoy being able to combine my love of teaching with my passion for performing arts and musical theatre. I currently teach in Year 2 and oversee the Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 classes but enjoy getting involved with all aspects of school life, particularly directing our musical productions.

Outside of school I enjoy football, cycling and cooking with my family. I also enjoy theatre and performing so can regularly be found singing with my band “The Alibis”. I also make an annual appearance in our local pantomime….oh yes I do!

Having studied at Cardiff University, I returned to Worcester to complete a PGCE before teaching in Berkshire for 2 years. During my time at King’s Hawford I have taught in both KS1 and KS2 as well as leading IT and Boys Games. My current role as Digital Strategy Co-ordinator is something I’m extremely passionate about, and the past few years have been has the most rewarding years of my 20 year teaching career.

Leading the digital strategy of the school has allowed me to observe all areas of the curriculum and enhance the teaching and learning of all of our children. Seeing the school adapt and thrive during successive lockdowns was a source of enormous pride. The challenge of balancing the strengths of our existing offering and fabulous learning opportunities outside the classroom with the exciting digital opportunities available to us is something I am looking forward to and will occupy my thoughts over the next few years.