PUPILS from a north Essex primary school have joined thousands of others from across the country in a bid to break a world record.

Youngsters from Messing-cum-Inworth Primary School, in Messing, near Tiptree, took part in SignHealth’s sign2sing project.

Cathy Graham, a School Governor at Messing-cum-Inworth Primary School on School Road, said staff and pupils had been “really excited” to be involved in the sign2sing world record-breaking attempt for the most people signing and singing a song at the same time.

She said: “The pupils have been busy learning the sign2sing song and they have been looking forward to being a part of the event alongside schoolchildren from across the country.”

The money raised from sign2sing will be used to continue SignHealth’s work helping to improve the mental and physical health and well-being of deaf people, including deaf children.

Steve Powell, chief executive at SignHealth, said: “Hundreds of schools from all over the country and overseas registered to take part in our Guinness World Record sign2sing project for the most people signing and singing at the same time.

“They range in size from 30 to 800 pupils, which, from our calculations, means more than 135,000 schoolchildren took part in the event. The exact number of participants will be confirmed by Guinness World Records at a later date.

“The previous world record, which we set last year, was 114,277 so we are hoping to have smashed this.

“It has been a truly fantastic event and we’re extremely grateful for everyone who took part. At the moment we’re still counting the money raised but we’re hoping it will make a significant contribution to the work of SignHealth.”