St Andrew's school, Newport, attempts world record

The current official Guinness World Record for a cat-costume gathering stands at 440 people, and was set at a film festival in the Malaysian state of Sarawak in May 2017.

But this week, 644 children – and adults – joined forces at St Andrew’s Primary School to smash that record.

(All pictures: www.christinsleyphotography.co.uk)

Everyone at the school will now wait eagerly while the Guinness World Records company verifies the paperwork before announcing that the school has officially broken the record.

Headteacher Joanne Giles said: “The idea of breaking a world record was formed after a staff discussion, and is a great way for us to end the half term.

“Here at St. Andrew's Primary School we celebrate success and encourage our children to take on challenging and rewarding experiences.

“We always strive to give our children a variety of experiences.”

On a sunny but chilly Friday morning, the St Andrew’s pupils lined up in their classes and were led into the playground by designated volunteers.

As each child passed through an arch of balloons, they were counted, one-by-one, by independent adjudicators PC Darren Morgan and Lliswerry ward councillor Alan Morris.

After the last “cat” had been counted, the group then spent five minutes together on the playground, to make the world record attempt valid.

A whistle by the headteacher signalled the end of the record attempt, prompting huge cheers from the crowd.

Cllr Morris was then invited to announce the total number of “cats” which had gathered at the school.

As he announced the record had been smashed by more than 200 people, the children gave another big cheer and started celebrating.

“Every single one of you is a world record holder,” he told the crowd of smiling faces.

After the announcement, the children went back indoors to warm up and prepare for an end-of-half-term disco, run by the school's PTFA, while the 25 volunteers retired to the staff room to complete the paperwork for the Guinness World Records company.

The school has been told by the company to expect a wait of up to three months for the new record to be verified.

(VIDEO: St Andrew's headteacher Joanne Giles talks about the school's world record attempt)

There were further celebrations, too, when the school was given a cheque for £500 by ASDA Pillgwenlly community champion, Liz Burden, who also attended the world record attempt in cat costume.

“I'm delighted to be invited to St. Andrew's to help with this record attempt,” she said.

“My role as Asda Community Champion enables me to help local schools, charities and local good cause. I enjoy helping out and giving back to the local community.”