It’s not every day you see Gangsta Granny, Captain America, Mr Bump, Willy Wonka and Rapunzel in the same place at the same time, but that’s exactly what happened at an independent school in Liphook.

The occasion was World Book Day at Highfield and Brookham School on Thursday when literary-loving children from the nursery, pre-prep and prep school dressed up as their favourite fictional characters in honour of brilliant books.

On a day intended to celebrate and nurture a love of reading and literature, the young bookworms left no stone unturned as they morphed into some of the best-loved personalities who are magically brought to life on the pages of many a children’s favourite.

Harry Potter, Matilda, Alice and Wonderland and Thing dazzled in their colourful costumes as they paraded up and down the sports hall, joining oompah loompahs, dinosaurs, pigs and foxes on a fantastic journey of imagery and imagination.

And the fun didn’t stop there as the pre-prep children were joined by the older children for a heart-warming morning of reading and creative book-related activities.

Children (and staff) at Highfield and Brookham are no strangers to the wonders of World Book Day, which was instigated in the UK in 1997, and head Suzannah Cryer said the day was “as brilliant as ever”.

“Our children love reading and put an awful lot of thought into which of their favourite book characters they can represent. The result is absolutely magnificent; colourful, creative and charming in equal measure. They never disappoint,” she said.