Ken Huttley

It is with heavy hearts that we mark the passing of Ken Huttley. Ken joined Arnold in 1991, taking up the role of technician in the Design Centre at Arnold School. He rapidly became the glue that held the different technical and artistic subjects together. Everyone relied on Ken due to his unparalleled skills as a craftsman. A time-served cabinet maker, his knowledge of timber, production methods and tools were second to none. As the needs of the Design department changed, Ken set about remodelling the Design Centre, building display cases, staircases, partition walls and a myriad of ingenious storage solutions and jigs.  If you needed something made or repaired Ken was your man. Ken was also instrumental in kindling a love of making in generations of students, helping guide them through projects and keeping them safe as they used fear-inducing saws and routers.  

Ken’s ability to turn his hand to any task was legendary and through his time at both Arnold and AKS he provided invaluable support, building sets and creating props for drama productions, managing the schools Health and Safety files, framing and hanging artwork along with countless projects in and around the site. It was often said that there was nothing ‘beyond our Ken’. 

When Ken retired in 2018, he was able to spend more time with his beloved family, though he never truly stopped working as his love of making and his willingness to help others ran deep. Our thoughts are with Ken’s family.