Will Smith, Lewis Hamilton and Nicole Kidman were just three of the reasons that an educational expedition to France has been described as ’the best trip ever’.

Students from Cornwall travelled to the South of France to watch preparations for the Monaco Grand Prix as well as the Cannes Film Festival.

It was part of a trip organised for Event Management students at Eden Project Learning, the education programme delivered by Cornwall College in the grounds of the Eden Project.

Claire Houghton, who had been doing a forensic science course before realising she preferred setting up forensic science events more than the science itself, said it was ’the best trip ever’.

’The weather was gorgeous, the hotel was lovely and we got to see celebrities on the red carpet including Will Smith, Nicole Kidman and David Lynch,’ Claire explained.

’Before the Grand Prix, I spotted McClaren and Ferrari trucks and started chatting to the drivers and told them we were from Cornwall. One of the truck drivers said “come with me” and took us to a little bar by all of the superyachts in Monaco harbour. Then Lewis Hamilton came out and started signing autographs for us. We then were given the chance to watch the pit crew team practice, which was incredible.’

But there was a serious point to the trip, which was to understand the level of planning and detail in execution that is needed for impeccable event management, according to Claire.