Rock‘n’roll diner
Who are you?
Zoe Durrant, secretary and treasurer of the Friends of Stowmarket High (FOSH), Suffolk (900 pupils).
Tell us about your float:
The theme for the Stowmarket Carnival in 2024 was decades. We chose to make a 1950s rock‘n’roll diner because we wanted something fun and iconic that was suitable for our secondary school-aged students.
Who made your float?
Our committee members created the larger structures, while the FoSH Student Ambassadors made the smaller decorations, including the bunting, records and pompom ice-cream sundaes.
Did you win?
Yes, we were voted Overall Float Champions and won a trophy for our school. Our organisation’s name has been engraved on the Stowmarket Carnival shield, which we will return to the Carnival Committee at this year’s event.
What was the highlight of the day?
We loved being part of such a positive event that celebrates our local community and its schools, businesses, charities and organisations.
Matilda
Who are you?
Sarah’Jane Sandy, chair of the Sellindge School Association, Sellindge (SSA), Ashford (172 pupils).
Tell us about your float:
We made it for the Hythe Venetian Fete, a floating carnival held on the Royal Military Canal. Thousands of people watched the procession in daylight and then illuminated after dark. We believe that reading is one of the most important skills a person can have, so we based our float on Roald Dahl’s book Matilda, in which he wrote: ‘There’s a kind of magic in all of you. ’That’s part of our school’s ethos.
Who made your float?
Children, parents, staff and governors helped paint, build and create our float. It’s hard work and we always say never again, but secretly we all love doing it.
Did you win?
Yes, we came first in our class: Juvenile Societies.
What was the highlight of the day?
The children loved being towed along the canal in daylight and again in the dark!
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