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.
"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"
“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.”
“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).