Summer has well and truly arrived this week, bringing with it one of St Albans’ fastest-growing music festivals.

Hosted at The Marlborough Science Academy, M Festival 6 was launched by school governor Richard Sullivan after an inspiring trip to Glastonbury Festival seven years ago.

Since its humble beginnings in 2009 with a crowd of just 300 guests, the day-long event’s popularity has sky-rocketed and it now expects to attract more than 1,500 party-goers.

And in six years more than £30,000 has been raised for the school to buy musical instruments, sports and IT equipment.

“The first three years, the stage was an articulated lorry,” remembers Richard, 53, who has two children at Marlborough Academy. “We made it up as we went along but now we know.”

The event is going from strength-to-strength and now boasts a professional stage in the school’s grounds, along with craft stalls, food and numerous workshops.

On the line-up this year are acclaimed Bedfordshire swing band the CC Smugglers, who have recently been on tour in Holland and Belgium, St Albans punk outfit Waiting for Katherine and country-duo Billington and Quinn.

For students at the school the event is also a showcase for their talents.

Accompanied by a dedicated team of volunteers, Richard begins preparations for each year’s festival almost a year in advance.

“Hopefully by now we know what we are doing,” he laughs. “You are always trying to do it better and add things to improve it – it is like anything in life really.”

This year the team are keen to attract more people from the community to come along and enjoy the entertainment.

“The first year I remember going out on the school field one evening and imagining what it would look like and now I see it happening in reality with 1,000 people in the field,” enthuses Richard, who lives in St Albans.

“People were having a great time. So I feel very proud of it. It is a great showcase for the school but it is not just a tick-box exercise it is much more than that.”

M Festival 6, The Marlborough Science Academy, Watling St, St Albans, Saturday, July 11, from 2.30pm until late. Details: 07952 110410, themfestival.co.uk