A SCHOOL is hoping to have raised at least £5,000 to build a new playground and car park after its Dharmic Mela on Sunday.

Khalsa School, in Wexham Road, Slough, featured rides, activities and music from across the town's Sikh community, alongside Punjabi singer Nachattar Gill.

Although attendance and the money raised are still being calculated, volunteer Rashpal Singh, 46, believed it would rival last year's festival, which attracted 5,000 people, and was broadcast on TV to over two million people by the Sikh Channel.

Last year, over £1,000 pounds of the raised money was donated to Wexham Park Hospital. This year, a portion of the proceeds will also go to Slough Food Bank.

The Sunday event also marked the 350th anniversary of the birth of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the 10th Guru of the Sikh religion.

The event featured fairground rides, stalls from businesses a, fresh Punjabi food and snacks, martial arts demonstrations, and a variety of spiritual performances based on Sikh culture and history by local artists and children from the school itself.

Mr Singh said: ''We had very good feedback, with lots of positive feedback. People said it was very good, and very well organised."

Nachattar Gill, who flew in from Punjab, is famed for his devotional Sikh music and film appearances, and was well received by the crowd.

The event was again broadcast ''across Europe'' through the Sikh Channel.

The school is attempting to raise £220,000 for its new construction works, half of which has already been acquired. The school board is hoping to raise the remainder throughout the summer.