Children in Need has rolled around once again this year in its flying colours, promoting great generosity through donations to aid disadvantaged children and young people across the UK, such as through dress-up events like the one held at Townley Grammar School for Girls right amid the 17th November.
The day kicked off with a vibrant bang as an action-packed assembly dominated the cusp of the sixth form cohort’s morning, with playful raps and energetic hula hoop thrusts hurled into the air and met with lively praises and chants from the equally enthusiastic raving crowd of elaborately dressed sixth formers, ready to relish in the glory of the bedazzled, laughter-bouncing atmosphere.
Observing the great pride present within the costumed community, I decided to go seek out various classmates of mine and ask them about their thought processes behind their chosen outfits for the day.
Molly O’Sullivan, decked out in an impressive array of sponges with the signature white socks and black squeaky shoes in the image of ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’, as well as going the extra mile by topping off the classic look with his trademark Krusty Krabs work hat, told me, ‘I didn't really have a reason, since SpongeBob was my favourite show and I watched it every day after school, and I wanted to make the children on my bus laugh in the mornings.’
When asking Larissa Mitchell, who had intricate black lace adorning her arms, bodice and skirt to hand-carve the figure of the illustrious ‘Black Swan’, she informed me, ‘Realistically, this was originally going to be my Halloween costume, but I wasn't able to go out due to my friend getting sick, so I decided to wear it today so that it wouldn't go to waste.’
Meanwhile, Divine Nwokeji, delivering a sharp look of a crisp blouse and grey skirt topped with the signature blue cat ears of ‘Nicole Watterson’, dished out her reason for her outfit promptly: ‘I've loved the Amazing World of Gumball since childhood, so I wanted to do an easy cosplay, and originally I wanted to come as Darwin but one, I didn’t have green Converses and two, I didn’t have the funds for an orange hoodie, and I wasn’t going to paint myself orange, and I certainly wasn't in the mood to paint myself blue either. I already had the grey skirt and white shirt for Nicole Watterson, so I went for it.’
In another room, Joy Osunbitan, daintily dressed in an elegant white dress whilst adorning pearly accessories, a gilded gold leaf headband and an enchanting set of wings to complete the look of an exquisite fairy, told me, ‘I like fairies, and originally I was going to do Tinkerbell but I didn't have a green dress, so this was the best I could do.’
On the same side of the room, I bumped into Eviana Qato, who had donned a sweet pale blue dress graced with gorgeous white ruffles and bow-like adornments followed by a huge white bow atop her head that tied together the hallmark attire of ‘Alice in Wonderland’, before telling me, ‘I feel like I really relate to her in the sense that she lives in her own fantasy land as an escape, so I really resonate with her. We're all lost in our own worlds, after all.’
Towards the end of my day, I came across a pair of discernible pigtails clipped with angular pink hair clips, followed by the signature grey arm sleeves and turquoise-edged collar and nails of the iconic ‘Hatsune Miku’, as skillfully cosplayed by my friend Fern Ram, who filled me in on her thoughts in formulating the outfit: ‘I decided on her because I'd never dressed up as a vocaloid before, and I thought it would be really fun to do that. Hatsune Miku is also an inspiration to me as she can sing about anything and be anything she wants to be.’
Overall, it’s safe to say that the sixth form cohort at Townley not only seized the day, but rather embellished it with their intricately crafted costumes and molded unforgettable memories affectionate of joyful pride in dressing up alongside their cherished friends, thus creating great excitement for what attire Townley has yet to come for the annual Children in Need event next year, which I will most certainly be eagerly waiting on.
