Children dressed up as their “dream” professions on a day to honour Martin Luther King Jr.

St David’s Primary School pupils were encouraged to reach for their goals in a special assembly on Friday.

Gladstone Thompson, the principal, said the dressing-up idea came from Kim Foley, the PTA president.

He explained: “She was saying that in this time of Covid, we still have to be sure that children keep their dreams alive.

“It’s her desire to put things in place where that principle will stand.”

Governor Rena Lalgie joined a virtual assembly hosted by the school, which also included pupils from East End Primary and St George’s Preparatory schools in its audience.

Mr Thompson added: “The Governor was saying that children still need to be able to understand that they can make their aspirations come true.”

Pupils were invited to dress up to the theme of “I have a dream to be … ” – the idea being that they filled in the blank with a job they would like to have one day.

Mr Thompson said that costumes included a chef, a dancer, a researcher, a police officer and a mechanic.

The theme was inspired by Dr King’s famous “I have a dream” speech, which was delivered on August 28, 1963 as a call for equality and freedom during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

People in the US will mark Martin Luther King Day today – the third Monday of January – in honour of the civil rights leader, whose birthday would have been on Saturday.

Mr Thompson said that teachers told pupils about Dr King and the role he played as part of their lessons on Friday.

He said that the event “lifted the spirit in the school” and insisted that his staff were “the best teachers in the world”.

The principal said: “It has been a really exciting day.

“As leaders we try our best to allow communities to be purposeful, to be able to manage change well and I think today at St David’s Primary we really have done that.”