World’s Best School Awards – Bhaktivedanta Manor – Hare Krishna Temple Watford

Avanti House Secondary School has been short-listed in the World’s Best School Awards under the category Health and Well-being, for its quality teaching of yoga and meditation. The school in Stanmore has already made it to the last three and the final result we be announced within the next few months.

The school enhances the students’ well-being by combining spiritual, mental and physical health into daily learning.

Yoga teacher Kishori Yogini dasi explained to BBC London News, “Yoga is part of the curriculum actually for Years 7 to 9. We learn about pranayama, which is breath-work, and different meditations. We learn a little about philosophy, the asanas, the physical movement. This has proven to give the students so much strength from inside out”.

A student expressed: “The main thing for me personally is being able to connect with myself on a deeper level. I think its spiritually connecting and also seeing something within yourself that you can also see in others. And being able have that joint collaboration with other people in our school.”

“We are absolutely thrilled as a school because it’s a real reflection on the hard work we do as a school, as a Trust and also the school community of our students,” explained the Principal Simon Arnell. “The holistic approach we have to education really enables all of the students to thrive, but also the staff as well”.

The Avanti House Secondary School is part of the Avanti Schools Trust. All the Trust’s schools serve only vegetarian food on site and children of all faiths and backgrounds attend.