A Willy Wonka World Book Day

In the words of Mr Willy Wonka himself, ‘A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.’…

And so to this morning – wow! What a joy it was to see the children relish in the nonsense and fantasy of dressing up! World Book Day arrived at Bassett in spectacular style with 60 Bassett Road being a living storybook at 8.30 am. Colour everywhere, and all with a growing buzz of excitement.

It has been genuinely wonderful to see the effort families and children have made. All of this, of course, serves a simple but important purpose: to nurture a real love and enthusiasm for reading. At this age, that spark matters enormously.

In assembly, Mr Moulton led a lively World Book Day quiz: pictures, authors and famous lines from books. The children did remarkably well; this was followed by a grand parade of the whole school .I also had the pleasure of reading an extract from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, from my own rather well-worn copy as a boy.

Huge thanks must go to the staff team who fully embraced the spirit of the day: Oompa Loompas, Violet Beauregarde (Miss Piper!), Mike Teavee (Mr Lagesse!), a handful of golden tickets – not more than five, of course – and even a few Wonka Bars.

A joyful day, a lovely reminder of the privilege of working with children at this age, and a moment on reflecting on all the good we have to share.

So to quote Gene Wilder, “So shines a good deed in a weary world.”