A GALAXY of expert speakers ensured Amesbury Prep School’s third biennial festival, ‘Let your Body, Mind and Spirit Run’, was a great success.

The week-long festival at the Hindhead school concluded last Friday, with the whole school competing simultaneously in their two house teams in a mass ‘wide game’.

Professor Russell Cowburn, global expert on nanotechnology research, gave an opening talk for pupils, parents and staff, and the festival’s highlights included talks by acclaimed futurologist Professor Peter Cochrane OBE, Harlequins’ director of rugby John Kingston and head of sports science Tom Batchelor, Dr Tom Price who spoke about cyborgs and ethics, and consultant clinical psychologists Dr Ann Kimber and Dr Margret Henning.

During the action-packed week, pupils enjoyed workshops on bushcraft, visual arts, poetry, circus skills, forensic science, the planets, particle accelerators and coding.

Year eight students took part in a mock court presided over by recorder Mark Milliken Smith QC ,which resulted in the two juries finding headmaster Nigel Taylor guilty of armed robbery and sentencing him to 10 years in jail.

“It was a wonderfully thoughtful and wholly inclusive programme of events for pupils, parents and staff,” school spokesman Natalie Holmes said.

“The festival genuinely reflected the school’s all-encompassing ethos and the air of excitement during the week was tangible.

“Throughout the school, there was a real sense of teamwork and friendship, with the children displaying a wonderful appetite to discover, learn and explore.

“The festival has enabled them to develop a greater sense of wellbeing, provide them with opportunities to engage in the world outside of Amesbury.

“We have received so many emails of thanks from parents and are delighted to be exceeding their expectations.”