Children across Andover celebrated World Book Day despite the Covid restrictions this year as pupils and teachers got dressed up at home and in schools.

Cruella de Vil was stalking the halls of Icknield School for stray dogs, while there were plenty of Wallys to be found hiding all over Andover.

At Rookwood School, the lower school took part in a range of activities aimed at celebrating the literary festival. Students had to guess a book character from a bag of clues made by their peers, while bookmarks and cardboard characters were also bein made.

"A big well done to everyone for their fantastic efforts!" said Tom Harvey, a houseparent at the school.

Meanwhile, at Icknield School, different classes took part in various themed activities. 

Triangle class staff depicted “The Hungry Caterpillar” story, by dressing up as the caterpillar, the butterfly and fruit while Oboe and Banjo classes staff brought “The Lion King” to life, using the opportunity of including World Book Day into their current class topic of 'Amazing Africa'.

The school said: "Throughout the day we saw pirates, Harry Potters, action men, Where’s Wallies, princesses and even a Medusa. A special mention to our very own Cruella de Vil who kept us entertained by searching for dogs in school.

"It was great to see some of our students joining in from home as well! Congratulations everyone—you did World Book Day proud!"

The schools were just some of many across the UK taking part in the fun of World Book Day. Research by the firm www.takepayments.com suggests that Roald Dahl characters, especially those from Matilda, were the most popular based on searches in the UK.

Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland, and the works of David Walliams and Jacqueline Wilson were also set to be among those most likely to inspire a costume.

  • The Advertiser will be publishing a selection of World Book Day pictures in next week's paper, out on March 12. Make sure you pick up a copy!