History and fencing teacher from Tudor Hall to receive Queen's Birthday Honour

Harriet Granville joined Tudor Hall School in 1971 to teach history, sixth form studies – and fencing.

During her career at the school, Mrs Granville progressed to the position of deputy headteacher.

She got the school’s fencing teams through to national finals and set up school trips to Krakow, Auschwitz and the Western Front.

Speaking to the Banbury Guardian, the mother-of-two and grandmother-of-five, said she was ‘humbled’ by the honour.

She said: “This MBE is flattering, but it couldn’t have happened without support of the staff and the girls at the school and from my husband Antony and my children.”

Mrs Granville, who lives near Shipston-on-Stour, chose to study history at university thanks to her father’s enthusiasm as a military historian, completing the final year of her degree at the department for war studies at King’s College London.

She said: “History is so important to the life of everybody, where we come from and how we got where we are now. Perhaps we can learn lessons from that.”

She added she had also been involved in a project to familiarise children in primary school with the impact of the First World War.

Mrs Granville’s fondest memories were of the friendships she formed. She said: “I have memories of the children doing well, not just academically. Much more important to me were the girls who struggled emotionally and who achieved what they never thought they would.”