World Book Day 2020: Gosport schools swap fancy dress for potatoes, pyjamas and more

World Book Day, on Thursday, March 5, typically sees youngsters dressing up as their favourite book characters.

But with parents seeing rising costs amid the pressure to provide high-quality outfits for their children, and costumes veering away from the world of literature, a number of Gosport primary schools have opted to do something different.

Ideas range from a pyjama day to recreating a scene from a book using a potato.

At Gomer Junior School the focus of the day will be on hats, as pupils decorate them to outline who they are as individuals.

Headteacher Georgina Mulhall said: ‘We want the children to celebrate their differences, and will have a hatwalk so everyone can show off their designs.

‘My fabulous team came up with the idea – we didn’t want parents to incur costs for World Book Day, and wanted to find a different way of engaging children with books.

‘The hats can be worn with school uniform, non-school uniform or fancy dress; it’s entirely up to them.’

At Rowner Junior School, staff and students will be having a pyjama day, getting snuggled up in the classroom to reflect the calm environment where they might pick up a book at home.

Elson Junior School is doing the same, with parents coming along in the afternoon for a reading session.

Senior administrative officer Caroline Fielder said: ‘Bedtime is a popular time to share stories with one another; it’s great because you feel so comfortable while your working and learning.’

Meanwhile, St John’s C of E Primary School has gone spudalicious, dressing up the humble potato instead of the students.

Pupils have been tasked with decorating a potato as a book character, then placing them into a scene inside a shoebox.

Teacher Gemma Havey said: ‘Sometimes people end up spending a lot of money on costumes for World Book Day and that becomes the focus, rather than the stories themselves.

‘Some children might not want to dress up either, so this gives everyone a fun and engaging alternative.’