SCULLS, witches and galleons will adorn a spruce dedicated to The Bard for next week’s Stow Christmas Tree Festival.

Inspired pupils at Dormer House School, Moreton-in-Marsh, are going all-out to delight visitors to the St Edward’s Church event, with their exhibit ‘Celebrating Shakespeare’.

The 4ft Norwegian spruce will be one of 46 in a display inside the medieval building from Thursday December 7 to Sunday December 10.

Children, businesses and local organisations will pull out the stops to create a community celebration and raise vital funds for the church.

The three categories also compete for the best decorated tree in their class and best overall.

Dormer House children will hang around 75 images representing Shakespeare’s plays, which they perform every year at Chipping Norton Theatre.

The Festival includes a Christmas concert for senior citizens by Stow Primary School at 2pm on Thursday December 7, with tea and mince pies donated by Tesco, Stow.

A festival lunch is held from noon to 2.30pm in St Edward’s Hall on Friday December 8 with guest speakers Martin and Lizzie Graham from Longborough Festival Opera and North Cotswold Wind Band entertaining in the church at 10.30am on Saturday December 9.

Visitors can vote for their favourite trees with the results revealed at a church service and prize-giving at 6.30pm on Sunday December 10.

Visitors can also snap up a special St Edward’s Church and Community Cook Book created to help boost Festival funds.

They are available from the church, Cotswold Baguettes, The Borzoi Bookshop, Stow News and Stow Tesco or from 01451 833840, at £5.