PARENTS have given a positive response to plans to open a free school in Suffolk based around the teachings of a guru to The Beatles, those behind the project have said.

The Maharishi School Trust recently held a meeting for members of the public at the Shire Hall in Woodbridge.

The group wants to open a school in the area in September 2013 and is keen to gauge people’s interest.

As well as traditional subjects the curriculum would include the beliefs of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who is widely credited as having developed transcendental meditation and achieved fame as guru to The Beatles and other celebrities.

The school would be for 11 to 18-year-olds and would grow by a year group at a time, with 20 pupils in each year.

Around 60 people attended Wednesday night’s meeting, with a number of people filling in applications for the school.

They heard a talk from Derek Cassells, headteacher of the Marharishi School in Lancashire, who explained the school’s ethos of consciousness-based education and the benefits of daily meditation.

“Consciousness-based education directly develops receptivity, intelligence, creativity, neurophysiological integration and better health in all students,” he said.

“This is because the quality of the students’ awareness is fundamental to successful educational outcomes.

“Likewise, all of the teachers at the school benefit tremendously from their morning and evening practice of transcendental meditation, which gives them the relaxation and alertness to manage every class effectively.”

Barry Spivack, who is leading the project in Suffolk, said the response was very encouraging, with around 10 parents expressing a firm interest.

“That’s what we were hoping for,” he said. “It was very positive. We need to find another 20 or 30 parents with children in years four and five, that’s the key thing.

“We would like to hear from interested parents by the end of November as we have to prepare a five-year business plan for the Department for Education early in 2012.”

Anyone interested in finding out more about the plans should e-mail barryspivack@yahoo.co.uk or call Mr Spivack on 01394 420455.