GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ x National Poetry Day

Please use this video and accompanying handout in class between 16-19 September

Please share any ideas your students come up with via our online form by 20 September. (Don’t worry if you miss this deadline, you can still take part in the GWR record attempt and use these resources to get your students thinking about what counts ahead of the Largest Poetry Lesson.)

This video for teachers explains how the Guinness World Records title attempt will work, and what you need to do for your students to count towards the record.

And here are some handy links:

1. Use this form for uploading your students ideas by 20 September
2. The class teacher ‘steward’ form
3. The headteacher / deputy ‘witness’ form
4. The link to upload evidence
5. a handy To do list with everything you need to do in order for your students to be counted

Please email me at recordbreak@lauramucha.com.

I will also be available on Zoom at the following times in case teachers or students want to ask any questions about the project. (I will share links by email.)
4-5pm Thursday 12 September
4-5pm Thursday 19 September
4-5pm Thursday 26 September
4-5pm Tuesday 1 October

Please watch the video for teachers and librarians. Then use these teaching resources (video and handout) in class between 16-19 September to get students thinking about what they are counting, and what counts to them (i.e. what matters). 

Please then share these ideas with Laura by 20 September via this online form.  

Please also make sure you have 10-11am 3 October in your diary and a phone or tablet or similar that you can film on (and a spare in case one of those isn’t working), as you will need to take two short videos and a photograph in order to satisfy Guinness World Record evidence requirements. (More detail on this below.)

Please share these ideas with Laura by 20 September via this online form. 

Don’t worry! Your students can still attend the lesson on 3 October and count towards the Guinness World Records title break.

Unfortunately, the students won’t count towards the Guinness World Records title break BUT they will have contributed to the poem that will be displayed around the country, and Laura will send a letter by email thanking them for that.

For your students to formally count towards the Guinness World Records title break, you need to have at least 25 people attending – per school, not per class. 

This does not have to be students. Teachers that are filling out forms to confirm how many students took part cannot count towards the record break as they are verifying the numbers that took part. But anyone that is not completing one of these forms (e.g. teaching assistants, librarians, volunteers etc) can be counted as well as the students.

You are still very welcome to attend and take part if you have fewer students / people than this, and you and your students will still contribute to the poem created and displayed around the country. It just means that, unfortunately, you will not formally be counted as part of the Guinness World Records title break. (I’m really sorry – these are not my rules!)

We currently have 53,000 students signed up from over 330 schools (hooray!) and are hoping that 60,000-100,000 to take part. We want to make as many students participants in a Guinness World Record title attempt as possible, and set a record that will be very difficult for anyone else to break. 

The headteacher or deputy and the class teachers that will be completing forms to confirm how many students took part cannot count as individuals towards the record break as they are verifying the numbers that took part. But they are still entitled to buy an official Certificate of Participation from Guinness World Records if they wish to, as will the school.

Anyone that is not completing one of these forms (e.g. teaching assistants, librarians etc) can be counted as well as the students.

Students must watch the lesson in the same place. If your students take part in multiple places within your school, only the students in one place will be able to count towards the record. 

But if you really want your entire school to take part and cannot fit them in one place, please email me at recordbreak@lauramucha.com – it’s complicated but may be possible. (Definitely easier to squish them into one place if you can.)

The lesson will be happening on Zoom 10-11am 3 October. You’ll receive a link by email.

Due to the number of schools attending, we won’t be able to support with tech. But I will share a YouTube link that you can use as a back up if you are having problems with Zoom. Please note that students will not be able to vote or interact via the YouTube link but are still able to attend the lesson and be part of the Guinness World Record title break.

The headteacher / deputy headteacher from each school needs to act as a ‘witness’ for Guinness World Records to confirm how many students took part in total. This involves being present before to see students coming into the assembly hall or wherever they will be watching from, and remaining for the duration of the lesson.

They also need to confirm that Guinness World Records guidelines were followed (see What are the Guinness World Records Guidelines? below) and confirm this via this short online form.

They or someone from their school must take two videos and one photograph and upload these here.

‘Witnesses’ cannot be counted towards the final number submitted by a school.

The Guinness World Records guidelines that are relevant to schools taking part are:

• The students attended the poetry lesson in an area with entrances / exits that were clearly marked and controlled.
• The lesson had a clear start and end and lasted for at least 30 minutes.
• The school had a minimum of 25 students taking part.
• If any students / participants left the poetry lesson between 10:15-10:50am, or weren’t there when it started, they were not counted.
• Specific measures were in place to ensure students weren’t counted twice (i.e. using a register).
• There was a clear start and end to the lesson and it lasted at least 30 minutes.
• Class teachers were responsible for a particular group of students who sat together.
• Class teachers (or ‘stewards’) counted the number of students in their group taking part by using a register.

Please click here if you would like to read these guidelines in more detail.

Class teachers need to act as a ‘steward’ for Guinness World Records to confirm how many students took part from their class (up to a maximum of 50). This involves counting how many students took part in the record attempt and deducting any students that left before it finished. Once the lesson finishes, they need to fill out this short online form. 

They or someone from their school must take two videos and one photograph and upload these here.

‘Stewards’ cannot be counted towards the final number submitted by a school.

Please ask students to go to the loo as anyone that leaves during the lesson (for whatever reason) will not count towards the final number. (Sorry, I appreciate this is brutal! I didn’t make up the rules…)

The lesson starts at 10am and lasts one hour. Students that are not present by 10:14am cannot be included in the final number for your school as the Guinness World Records timer will start at 10:15am.

Schools need to do three things: 

1. use a register to count students as they enter, and film their feet being counted in for 30 seconds; 
2. take a photo of students from the back (I’ll ask you to do this shortly after 10:15am);
3. film the entire space (including entrance and exits) and the back of students’ heads watching the lesson for 30 seconds. (I’ll ask you to do this shortly after 10:15am).

These are Guinness World Records evidence requirements to verify how many people took part.

As soon as possible after the lesson (ideally on the same day, and if not then before 6pm Friday 4 October), please do these three things: 

1. each class teacher must fill out this short online form for ‘stewards’ (to confirm how many students in their class took part);  
2. the headteacher / deputy head must complete this different short online form for ‘witnesses’ (to confirm how many from the school took part). 
3. each school must upload the 30 second video of students being counted as they come in, and the photo and 30 second video of them taking part. You can do this *here. (Any class teacher, head or deputy headteacher can do this.) 

 These are Guinness World Records requirements, basically to show that we aren’t making it all up! Your school and students cannot be counted without them. 

Each class teacher must fill out this short online form for ‘stewards’ to confirm how many students in their class took part.

One headteacher / deputy from each school must fill out this brief online form for ‘witnesses’ to confirm how many students in their school took part.

Please upload the evidence video(s) of children taking part in the lesson via this website. 

This will be used only to meet Guinness World Records evidence requirements (including sharing with three independent third parties who will verify the record attempt). They will be deleted immediately afterwards.  

The finished poem will go live on the Children’s Poetry Archive on the afternoon of National Poetry Day, 3 October (the day of the lesson). 

The poem will also be displayed on billboards and shared in mainstream media, including Sky Kids News and The Daily Mail – I will add all press mentions to my website here: lauramucha.com/press/. 

There will also be an illustrated poster available for schools / individuals to download. 

Schools, staff and students can buy an official personalised Certificate of Participation from Guinness World Records once: 

• the class teachers and headteacher have completed the online forms; 
• the school has submitted a video of students attending the lesson; and 
• the independent third party has reviewed the evidence and Guinness World Records have confirmed the title break. (We will try to make this to happen as soon as possible after National Poetry Day. This may take up to four weeks.)

Schools / parents / caregivers can purchase the Certificate of Participation directly from Guinness World Records – I will update this and share a link by email once this is ready. Guinness World Records are providing a discount code this project, so Certificates will cost £11.99 instead of £19.99 + postage.

Schools are also welcome to buy in bulk on behalf of students at their school in order to save on postage costs. I will email participating schools with details of how to do this (please contact me at recordbreak@lauramucha.com if you have any questions). 

Please note that the Certificate of Participation is roughly A5. Participating schools can purchase the larger Title Break Certificate as well as the Certificate of Participation should they want a larger certificate to display. Or they can purchase the Title Break Certificate and add a plaque underneath to state that they took part in the record break. I will email participating schools with details of how to do this (please contact me at recordbreak@lauramucha.com if you have any questions).

I will email with details of where the poem is being displayed on billboards and when.

Once the record break is confirmed, I will send an official letter to schools from myself and the participating charities thanking students for taking part in the record attempt.