Hawking’s father’s frequent absences working in Africa，the rest of the family spent four months in Majorca visiting his mother’s friend Beryl and her husband，the poet Robert Graves.On their return to England，Hawking attended Radlett School for a year and from September 1952，St Albans School.The family placed a high value on education.Hawking’s father wanted his son to attend the well­regarded Westminster School，but the 13­year­old Hawking was ill on the day of the scholarship examination.His family could not afford the school fees without the financial aid of a scholarship，so Hawking remained at St Albans.