This month, teachers and support staff at Ashmount School worked their magic to transform the school into Hogwarts’ School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for a two day Harry Potter- themed festival.

On arrival at school, pupils made their way through Platform 9 ¾ to the sounds of a live orchestra playing music from the films, before posing for a photo alongside a life-sized replica of the Hogwarts Express, complete with authentic railway sounds and smoke.

Other life-sized replicas featured around the school included a dragon suspended from the foyer ceiling and a replica of Hagrid’s famous motor bike, specially adapted for access by wheel-chair users.

We opened our doors to pupils and staff from six special schools and a range of mainstream schools from across Leicester, Leicestershire and Derbyshire who were all invited to experience the sights and sounds of the popular series of books written by J. K. Rowling.

Trainee teachers from our Initial Teacher Training programme joined in the fun to learn how to plan and deliver whole school events.

All fifteen of our classes transformed their classrooms into scenes from the popular books and films, ranging from Gringott’s Bank to Professor’s Sprout’s Herbology Class.

Our pupils were given the opportunity to experience owls flying in the school hall and treated to performances from the Leicestershire-based Bamboozle Theatre Company. Other highlights included a reptile handling and mini-beast experience provided by ‘Meet the Beasts’, an interactive hands-on science experience inside a mobile dome, an up-close and fully interactive potions lab and bubble show, and a Wizard Maths Workshop led by staff from Loughborough company 3M.

All of the staff, students and volunteers dressed as characters from the books and films for the two day festival, which culminated in an after school fancy dress disco for pupils and their families.  

Headteacher David Deacon said, ‘We were delighted with how well all of our staff, pupils and their families engaged with the Harry Potter theme. The props and scenery created by our staff team and volunteers were absolutely incredible and really helped to get everyone into the spirit of the festival.’

Deputy Headteacher Abi Steady said, ‘With the help of countless volunteers within school and many generous donations from local companies we were able to create a truly magical experience for our amazing young people. At Ashmount we are passionate about making the seemingly impossible possible and this is another shining example of how the Ashmount team committed to giving whatever it takes to bring a dream to life.’