Danetree undergoes magical transformation for World Book Day

​Parents dropping off their children at Danetree Junior School last week could have been forgiven for doing a double take and checking they were at the right address as, for one day, the West Ewell school was made over as the Hogwarts School of Wizardry.

​Whilst Danetree pupils came in dressed as their favourite characters from fiction, the school’s staff all assumed the clothes and characters of Harry Potter’s famous fictional school for the day.

“The prospect of coming in to school in fancy dress was already great fun for the children, so when they saw how much the entire school was entering into the spirit of the day they absolutely loved it,” said the school’s leader of literacy Heather Libby, who organised the World Book Day events at Danetree, a member of the GLF Schools multi-academy trust.

“We had a good mix of costumes, from the obvious modern classics such as Harry Potter to older ones, like Alice in Wonderland and Oliver Twist – that certainly raised some smiles when it came to lunch time!”.

Special events took place throughout the day, such as different year groups reading to one another, a costume parade, prizes for children with the most imaginative outfits and an Extreme Reading competition, to find the most imaginative places in the school for a sit-down with a book.

“The whole day was meant to be a celebration of the joy of literacy and reading, and the way it fires up the imagination of children and adults alike, and it did that in spectacular fashion,” said Ms Libby. 

“So many people put so much effort into making it such an enjoyable event, that the children go home absolutely buzzing with excitement about the world of books and reading – and for teachers and I think parents too, you can’t ask for more than that.”