Why hundreds of South Tyneside school children have dressed as snowmen for the day

Around 400 pupils and staff from Bamburgh School, Sea View Primary School and Horsley Hill Children’s Centre in South Shields, dressed up as snowmen to celebrate the end of the school term on Friday, December 20.

The children, aged from 2 to 16, really got into the spirit of things with their costumes with many donning carrot noses, tall silk hats and eyes made out of coal.

Originally aiming for 700 snowmen, teachers from Bamburgh School have said the day was a practice run for this time next year, when they will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people dressed as snowmen.

The record currently stands at 489, which was achieved by Centro Social e Cultural da Atalhada in Lagoa, Azores, Portugal, on December 8, 2017.

However, with all 700 pupils and staff on the campus taking part they are confident they can beat it.

Mr Aaron More, a Year 6 teacher at Bamburgh School, explained: “My class kept asking if we could attempt to break a Guinness World Record.

“We worked out if the whole campus did it we would have 700 snowmen, but you need a bit more time to sort out matching outfits, so this was a run through and next year we are going to go for the world record.”

They might not have beaten the world record yet, but Mr More says it got everyone in the festive spirit before the Christmas holidays.

He continued: “We thought it would be a nice way to end the term with a Christmas theme, to get everybody excited before we break up for a few weeks.

“There was some brilliant costumes, the kids really went all out and there was a really good feeling around the campus. It was so nice to see everyone getting on board.

“It’s a lovely way to end the year.”