More than 230 students orchestrated a ‘jail break’ at Steyning Grammar School Sixth Form College, fleeing the grounds in cars, vans and shopping trolleys Friday morning.
But, this is not your regular classroom escape - the elaborate stunt led by teachers and year three students was assembled to raise money for the NSPCC.
Wearing full body costumes the teenagers braved the bitter cold in towns across Sussex, including Horsham town centre, to take donations from the public.
Dressed in a bear suit with fluffy ears, 17 year-old Hayley Weir recounted the break out.
She said: “We had prison cells in the classrooms with bars and we escaped through the windows blowing our whistles.
“We then piled into these massive vehicles and went down the high street screaming.”
The students were split into groups and dressed up, including the lost boys of Peter Pan and the animals of Noah’s Ark.
William Sampen, 17, said: “We’re all dressed in different themes and our group went for Noah’s Ark, so we had a big trailer decorated as the ark.”
In its 24th year, the ‘jail break’ campaign raised more than £6,000 last December and the students hope to break this ambitious target.
Phoebe Scarfield, 17, added; “We’re hoping to beat last year’s, so we’ve embraced the cold, the wind and the rain to collect money.”
College rock band, Pulse, performed on Horsham’s bandstand throughout the day.
Students walked the streets of Horsham, Crawley, Worthing, Southwick, Brighton and Hove to name a few, before returning to the school to tally up the collections.
The total raised currently stands at £6,001, but is yet to be confirmed.
Assistant Head of the Sixth Form, Sally Randall, said: “The students have used quite a lot of enterprise skills to build up to this day.
“They got themselves organised, got sponsorship, and even got their parents to take the day off to be drivers.
“They’ve found out a lot about themselves, working as a team and leadership.”
Money raised will be used to fund Child Line calls in Sussex and to train four NSPCC officers.
The school and students would like to thank Horsham District Council for allowing them to host the event.