HUNDREDS of students at an Adelaide school have celebrated raising almost $300,000 for charity thanks to a misguided tweet from Senator Cory Bernardi.

There are hopes the extraordinary achievement will spur even more donations for Do It In A Dress after Senator Bernardi, a critic of same-sex marriage, labelled the fundraiser “absurd gender morphing”.

One Girl CEO Morgan Koegel today flew from Melbourne to Adelaide to attend an assembly at Craigburn Primary School for Do It In A Dress Day.

The school, which originally aimed to raise $900 for the campaign, found themselves at the centre of a media controversy after Senator Bernardi noticed it was encouraging students to wear a dress for the fundraiser.

But the tweet sparked a huge backlash, and saw thousands of dollars from around the world go to One Girl, which raises money to educate African girls in Uganda and Sierra Leone.

Today the school celebrated raising more than $276,830 — completely smashing their modest fundraising target.

Parents and children of all genders showed their support for Do It In A Dress by wearing dresses, as did school principal Paul Luke.

Ms Koegel said it was an incredible experience to be at the school today to celebrate its massive achievement.

“It was incredible, the students were so excited and they gave me a huge round of applause but ... it was the students that inspired thousands of people to donate,” Ms Koegel told news.com.au.

“They were a group of primary schools students mature enough and brave enough to speak out for girl’s education.

“While the tweet drew attention, it was fundamentally the students and what they wanted to do, that motivated people to donate.”

One Girl has been around for six years and raised $800,000 last year. Ms Koegel hoped the extra media coverage around the school’s fundraiser would spur even more donations.

“We’ve seen a lot of schools, workplaces and unis sign up,” Ms Koegel said.

Others have put their hands up to complete challenges like jumping out of planes while dressed in a school uniform to raise money.

“Hundreds more people have signed up and hopefully we will be able to beat last year’s tally,” she said.

Ms Koegel said she started the campaign Do It In A Dress to challenge people to feel empowered and do something while dressed in a school uniform.

“We wanted to create awareness that it is a big deal to go to school,” she said.

“In the countries that we work in, having a school dress is a big deal, not many girls get to go to school ... so the dress is a symbol of education, employment and opportunity.”

Ms Koegel said it didn’t take long for people to realise the program was a positive one and for condemnation to turn into support.

“We couldn’t wipe the smiles off our faces when the whole thing started,” she said.

“We were overwhelmed in the best way possible about the support we received.

“While it started with something negative, all we’re feeling now is pride.”