St Albans M festival is a success

A sixth annual music festival run by The Marlborough Science Academy has raised over £10,000 for school funds.

More than 2,000 people packed out the academy’s grounds for Saturday’s family-friendly M Festival.

Richard Sullivan, one of the organisers, said he was delighted with both the turn-out and money raised: “When we started in 2010 no one really knew what to expect and we just about broke even that year, so to be able to raise so much for the school this year is great news and makes all the effort worthwhile.

“We have a relatively small team of dedicated volunteers who put this festival on every year and when people come for the first time they are amazed at the standard of the event.”

Musicians who appeared at the event included St Albans resident and The Feeling drummer Paul Stewart and headliners CC Smugglers.

Alongside the musical acts festival goers were able to take part in art workshops, dress up for the photo booth and attend hula hoop workshops. They could also get involved in an array of inflatable games, face painting, henna tattoos and other festival related activities.

While plans are already in place for next year’s event there are some concerns about the longer term viability of the festival, and organisers will be looking to recruit some more parents to take on key roles in the team and build on the growing reputation and success of M Festival in future years.

In the meantime the school will be looking to fund various activities with the money raised this year. Previous years have paid for IT equipment and musical instruments for the school.