Schools bristle with energy for a brushing record

Six-year-old Hauano Latu and fellow pupils of Birdwood School in Ranui do their part to break the record. Picture / Kenny Rodger

A small South Island school has brushed aside the competition and is ready to enter the Guinness Book of World Records after recruiting more than 32,000 schoolchildren for an obscure record bid.

Southbrook School, in North Canterbury, yesterday carried out an ambitious nationwide exercise aimed at having the largest number of people brushing their teeth at one time.

The world record is held by 260 schools in Germany, who managed a tally of 31,424, but Southbrook School principal Rod Thompson said he was confident a new record was set yesterday.

It is believed more than 32,800 schoolchildren and school staff took part in yesterday's one minute of simultaneous brushing.

Mr Thompson said the idea came from a fundraising forum involving parents prepared to think outside the square.

"This is a day all of the children participating will remember for the rest of their lives and a minute in time that most dental nurses could only dream of," he said.

The idea of the bid on the toothbrushing record was put forward, and letters were sent to every primary school in the country asking them to take part.

After a strong response from the schools, Southbrook linked up with sponsors to make it a reality. About 32,000 toothbrushes and about 1200 tubes of toothpaste were supplied for the record bid.

Record details must now be verified in London.

Yesterday's world record bid was the second by Southbrook School; it has also set a provisional record for the "world's longest human dog tunnel" with 450 people.