Six-year-old Tommy Woods dressed as Shakespeare yesterday to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the celebrated bard’s birthday and to raise cash for charity.

Tommy who goes to Letchmore Infants and Nursery School in Stevenage decided to put on the outfit after he watched a Horrible Histories programme on Shakespeare and became fascinated with the writer and the Tudor age.

Tommy found out his school was holding a dress down day to raise cash for parent Kate Lengthorn, who is running the London Marathon tomorrow.

Kate is raising funds for the Tommy’s charity which helps research into stillbirths and miscarriages, and the youngster decided to wear the Shakespeare outfit to back the cause.

The effort also coincides with the 400th anniversary of the bard’s death, being marked today

Tommy’s mum Andree Woods said: “They were talking about Shakespeare on television on Friday morning and he saw it on Horrible Histories, he was absolutely mesmerised by it.

“I had a box of costumes which I had bought at auction and we just found it in there.

“It’s a wonderful cause to raise money for. My daughter had a miscarriage last year and I’ve got a lot of friends who have had still births and miscarriages and its heart breaking.”

Mrs Woods said she would be encouraging Tommy to learn as much about Shakespeare as she can.

“It forms the foundation of so much of our modern language,” she said.

William Shakespeare was born in April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon and died there on April 23, 1616, at the age of 52.

He wrote some of the most lasting and iconic works in the English language including 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and other verses.

For more information about the Tommy’s charity, or to donate, visit www.tommys.org.