Sculptor producing abstract forms from stone and other media, son of the painter John Hitchens and grandson of Ivon Hitchens. Simon studied at West Surrey College of Art & Design, 1985–6, then gained an honours degree at Bristol Polytechnic’s faculty of art and design, 1987–90. He was assistant to the sculptors Peter Randall-Page, 1990, and Anish Kapoor, 1993–6. Group exhibitions included LG Open from 1992; Galerie de L’Avancon, Bex, Switzerland, 1993; Hannah Peschar, Surrey, and Contemporary Art Society, both from 1994; and Eight by Eight at Pallant House, Chichester, 1997. He was selected by the British Council for sculpture symposiums in Slovakia, 1994, and Colombia, 1996, and was made an associate of RBS, 1997. There was a family tradition of attendance at Bedales School.