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Germ's Journey are officially GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ Title Holders!

We are thrilled to announce that we have officially broken the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS Title for Largest hand hygiene lesson (multiple venues).

The largest hand hygiene lesson (multiple venues) consisted of 4,492 participants and was achieved by Germ’s Journey (UK) in schools across the United Kingdom, on 15 October 2024.

Children are particularly susceptible to infectious diseases, and handwashing is one of the most effective methods for prevention, helping to reduce school absences. With this GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS Title Attempt, Germ’s Journey’s aim was to raise awareness and encourage correct hand-hygiene to prevent illness for as many children as possible across the UK. Germ's Journey develops hand-hygiene educational resources, free-at-the-point-of-access, for children all around the world.

The lesson lasted 40-minutes and took place on Global Handwashing Day. The 'Germ Busting Washathon' was lead by Professor of Microbiology Katie Laird, Professor of Education innovation Sarah Younie, and Dr. Sapphire Crosby, all faculty at De Montfort University.

Prof. Katie Laird

"Congratulations to everyone involved in the Germ’s Journey world record! A special thanks to the event sponsors and the incredible children who participated—you made this achievement possible. Teaching children the importance of handwashing instils a lifelong habit of infection prevention, helping them stay healthy and safe and we are proud to achieved this on such a large scale in one online lesson"

Prof. Sarah Younie

“This is wonderful news & warrants a very special thank you to everyone who took part in the Germ’s Journey lesson, it was a collaborative effort & we achieved a world record! It just shows what can be done by joining up efforts in education across schools and regions.”

Dr. Sapphire Crosby

“We’re thrilled to have achieved this World Record Title, and so proud of all the schools for their dedication. It was wonderful to see so many children across the UK take part in the Germ’s Journey lesson and learn about this important topic.”

Announcement: Germ’s Journey GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title largest hand hygiene lesson (multiple venues)

The schools that participated were:

Abbey CE VA School, St Albans

Abbey Village Primary School, Chorley

All Souls Catholic Primary School

Anstey Junior School

Ashton-under-Hill First School

Barton Clough Primary School

Belmont School

Beulah Junior School

Bo'ness primary school

Brading CE Primary

Bransgore CE Primary School

Breamore Primary School

Broadheath Primary School

Brook Primary School

Bryn Offa CE Primary School

Catshill First School and Nursery

Chandlers Ford Infants School

Cobden Primary School

Colley Lane Primary Academy

Cossington CE Primary School

Crookham C of E Infant School

Fossebrook Primary School

Holy Redeemer RC Primary School

Houghton on the Hill Primary School

Hugo Meynell Primary School

John Keble C of E Primary School

Kinnerley Primary School

Lime Tree Primary Academy

Medway Community primary school

Meriden Primary School

Micheldever C of E Primary School

Moss Park Primary School

Pendock CE Primary School

Perton First School

Peters Hill Primary

Quarry Bank Primary

Quarry Hill Academy

Queensmead Primary

Rednal Hill Infant School

RGS Springfield

Saint Wilfrid's Catholic Primary School

Salford Priors CofE Academy

Sandfield Close Primary School

Shaftesbury Junior School

Shifnal Primary School

Sketchley Hill Primary School

Slater Primary School

Spinney Hill Primary School

St Alban's Catholic Primary School

St Joseph’s Catholic Preschool

St Mary’s Catholic Voluntary Academy

St Mary's CE Primary School

St Mary's Evesham

St Matthew's CE Primary School

St Peter's School

St Vincent's Catholic Primary School

St. Edward's CE Primary School

St. Paul's Church of England Primary School

St. Peter's Droitwich C of E Academy

Stafford Leys Primary School

The Orchards School

The Phoenix Learning Centre

Walmley Junior School

Weeth CP School

Wyvern Primary School

For Parents

Did your child take part in the record attempt for the largest online handwashing lesson on Global Handwashing Day, organised by Germ's Journey? This historic event united schools across the UK on October 15th to teach youngsters the importance of handwashing as one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of infections and diseases. Now, you can celebrate their participation with an official Guinness World Records Certificate of Participation (https://gwrstore.com/pages/germs-journey-handwashing-lesson )—a keepsake that symbolises your family’s commitment to health and hygiene.

To celebrate this amazing occasion use code KIDS8GERMS and receive a 40% discount (valid until November 15th only).