On Thursday 1 March, 597 storybook characters descended upon the Astroturf at St Mary’s to celebrate World Book Day.

The event was the idea of Claudia in LV Form, as part of the Challenge 500. The Challenge 500 is an extra-curricular activity in which girls aim to raise £500 for The Prince’s Trust through a series of mini-enterprises and fund-raising events.

Claudia had the idea of attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people dressed as storybook characters, asking everyone to contribute £1 to The Prince’s Trust for participating. She organised the event with the help of the Grosstete Challenge 500 Team and girls in LVI Form.

Although we fell short of the world record of 644, we raised money for The Prince’s Trust, celebrated World Book Day in a truly memorable way and enjoyed discussing our favourite books and characters.

Furthermore, the girls involved with organising the attempt showed entrepreneurial flair, developed a wide range of skills and showed that being enterprising can be and should be great fun.

Well done to everyone involved!