Tockington School achieves Guinness Record as part of River Tidy

Tockington Manor School is celebrating after its pupils participated in a successful Guinness World Record Attempt. Six TMS pupils took part in Taff Tidy, a project to get the most amount of people actively tidying up a river at the same time. The previous record was smashed on Friday 21 March 2025, with 1,327 people cleaning up along the banks of the River Taff in Wales, across eight different locations, for at least half an hour. “Tockington Manor pupils took part in Cardiff Bay,” explains Head of Geography and Eco-Coordinator, Jack Harvey. “They picked up an enormous amount of man-made litter along the river’s edge and we are so proud that they were able to be part of this record-breaking attempt.”

The six children, dubbed Eco Warriors, are part of the school’s newly launched Eco Schools Programme and Taff Tidy was a great way to kick off their participation in the 'Big School Clean' running from March 21st – April 6th. “It’s important to look after the environment,” says Year 6 pupil Theodore. “We want to set an example to the rest of the school of small ways they can make a difference. Litter picking is such an easy contribution to make.” The school hopes to extend its litter-busting efforts into the small village north of Bristol in which it is situated, organising a clean-up in the area. Other Eco Warrior projects include a wildflower meadow on the school grounds, steps to reduce plastics in the school, and limiting food and energy waste. “The children have already done an audit around the school, looking for lights left on in empty classrooms and have been quick to act, bringing in a new traffic light system.” Says Harvey.

“We know that one river clean up won’t change the world.” Says Taff Tidy organiser and environmental activist, Kate Strong. “We’re obviously over the moon to have achieved a Guinness World Record, but on the back of that we are launching numerous legacy projects to inspire more people to change their behaviours.” These include the making of a documentary about effective community actions, an analysis of rubbish collected and a paper on behavioural change, as well as workshops and talks in schools. “It was fantastic having schools participate in Taff Tidy,” says Kate. “We really want to keep their involvement and enthusiasm going by looking at pupil-led content to complement the curriculum.”

“The achievement of a Guinness World Record is a fantastic start for our Eco Warriors,” beams Tockington Manor School Headmaster Stephen Symonds. “As they work towards their Eco-Schools Green Flag accreditation, we’re looking forward to supporting them in all their efforts to make our school, our village and indeed the world we live in a greener place. We’re extremely proud of them.”