New headteacher announced for Shropshire's oldest prep school
The oldest prep school in Shropshire has announced the appointment of its new headteacher.
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The Old Hall School, which is about to celebrate its 180th anniversary, has announced the appointment of its new headteacher.
The school, which becomes Wrekin Prep this September, will welcome Craig Williams to the role in January.
Craig has been head of Abingdon Prep School in Oxfordshire for the past eight years, having taught in a number of the country’s top schools during his career.
After attending Bradfield College as a pupil, he went on to gain his degree in Geography from Oxford University, and has since taught at prep schools in Sussex, Somerset, Berkshire, and Oxfordshire.
Emma Crawford, Chair of Governors at the Wrekin Old Hall Trust, said she was delighted to announce Craig’s appointment, following an extensive recruitment process.
“Old Hall has continually evolved throughout its 180-year history but has always delivered the very best education for its pupils and will continue to do so as Wrekin Prep,” she said.
“Both the number and quality of candidates reaffirmed that our school is well regarded across the country and we are delighted to be welcoming Craig, who we feel is best equipped to lead our community forward.
“Craig impressed us all with his warmth and his child-centred and hands-on approach to education. He very much shares the values of our family school.”
A keen cricketer, Craig also enjoys teaching sport alongside academic subjects and will be moving to the Wrekin Prep community with his wife Hannah, young son Quinn, and yellow labrador Wicket.
He said: “I am delighted to be joining the Wrekin Prep community as it looks forward to this exciting new chapter which will see efforts continue to build stronger links with Wrekin College.
“The people and pupils I met as part of the interview process could not have been more welcoming and I look forward to more opportunities to visit the school community at other events so I can meet even more Wrekin Prep families ahead of my official start in January.”
Dr Crawford said the vision they had set out for the future of the trust at the beginning of this academic year and notable achievements at Old Hall including in the development of sport, music and other specialist areas attracted a high calibre of candidates when the search for a new headteacher started to replace current headteacher Mrs Anna Karacan who will leave at the end of this academic year.
Last year, The Wrekin Old Trust told families within its community that Old Hall School would be renamed Wrekin Prep in September 2025.
The organisation said the change is building on the relationship between the prep school and Wrekin College, which the school became part of in 2006, forming the Wrekin Old Hall Trust.
The school was founded in 1845, and for over 160 years it was housed in Wellington's oldest building. The school moved from the private preparatory school building to its current home on the Wrekin College campus when the two establishments merged.
