 Both the Belfast Festival at Queen's and the Belfast Film Festival use the venue to stage events.After attending Agnes Street National School, Hewitt attended the Royal Belfast Academical Institution from 1919 to 1920 before moving to Methodist College Belfast, where he was a keen cricketer.In 1924, he started an English degree at the Queen's University of Belfast, obtaining a BA in 1930, which he followed by obtaining a teaching qualification from Stranmillis College, Belfast.