It Was A Huge Honour To Welcome Our ‘Festival of Curiosity’ Patron, Baron Sedwill To Hazlegrove!

It was a huge honour to welcome Baron Sedwill to HzG on Friday afternoon, when he spoke to the Upper School. Lord Sedwill served as Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service to both Theresa May and Boris Johnson.

Previously, he had been the UK’s ambassador to Afghanistan, and National Security Adviser. Sedwill said of his life before government "I've had a gun in my face from Saddam Hussein's bodyguards. A bomb under my seat at a polo match in the foothills of the Himalayas; I've been hosted by a man plotting to have me assassinated; I've been shot at, mortared and even had someone come after me with a suicide vest.”

He opened up with a wide-ranging exploration of the war in Ukraine, before inviting questions from the audience. The pupils grilled him on topics from babies, and borders to Brexit, as well as more personal questions about his life at the very pinnacle of UK, European and world affairs. A truly remarkable man.

Mr Edwards