Why Tonbridge Was a Sea of Pink Last Friday: Inside Pink Day 2026

If you were out and about in Tonbridge on Friday morning and noticed more children than usual in pink, fancy dress or simply not-quite-uniform, you weren't imagining it. Tonbridge School held its annual Pink Day on 16 October, and it's part of a wider town tradition that has, in past years, pulled in other local schools too.

Tonbridge School's grounds were decorated with hundreds of metres of pink fabric and lantern displays, with large banners at the front of the school and buildings lit pink. Boys and staff dressed in pink, pink sweets were sold, and a charity clothing stall - stocked with pre-loved pink items donated by the Demelza Hospice shop - raised over £1,200 on its own, doubling as a nod to sustainable fashion. This year's fundraising went to Breast Cancer Kent. Mrs Alice Knight, the school's Head of Community Action, said: "Pink Day is a fantastic tradition that brings our whole community together for an important cause. It gives boys the opportunity to learn more about cancer and the impact it has on so many families, while raising vital funds and having fun at the same time."

Pink Day was first launched at Tonbridge School in 2007, to coincide with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and has since raised nearly £60,000. In 2019, staff at the school set up the hashtag campaign #TurningTonbridgePink, explicitly aiming to get the wider town involved rather than keep it a single-school event - and Hilden Grange Preparatory School, just down the road, has joined in before. That history is the likely explanation for anyone who spotted children from more than one school in pink or fancy dress around Tonbridge last Friday.

Donations to this year's Pink Day fundraiser are still being accepted via the campaign's JustGiving page.

Source: Tonbridge School, Pink Day 2026