Beaminster School has broken the world record for the largest number of people dancing and hula hooping at the same time.

To the sound of the Sugababes’ Round Round hundreds of hips limbered up for the attempt on the school playing field last Wednesday.

The whole school, with teachers, governors, staff, parents and pupils from primary schools around Beaminster took part after months of practising under the tutelage of PE teacher Emily Rendell.

She and fellow PE teacher Judith Hill, with students Bess Fursman and Natasha Webb led the way on their dance platform – a flatbed trailer parked in the middle of the field – to remind the record-breakers of the two-minute routine they were supposed to be following.

The record they had to beat, fully verified by judges, time keepers and cameras, was 342 and they had two official attempts to do it.

The first attempt saw 345 managing to keep their hoops and hips spinning but the second smashed the record with 363 twirlers.

School secretary Nicola Chalkley, who also took part, said: “It was great fun. All the paperwork and film has to be sent off to the Guinness Book of Records for verification. We had independent judges here, among them Mat Follas and Sue Farrant, official time keepers and we were filming it too.

“We had to keep going for two minutes which feels like forever when you are doing it. I don’t think my hips have moved so much for years!”

Headteacher Mike Best made a credible attempt himself but sadly fell short of the prescribed two minutes.

The school didn’t manage to persuade a hula hoop company to donate the hoops so the school bought them and decided the spectacle would be enhanced by pupils colour co-ordinating their hoops with their house coloured polo shirts.

The idea for the challenge started with 12-year-old Year 8 pupil Billy Raymond.

IT literacy and numeracy teacher Gilly Poulten wanted to find a way of keeping young Billy occupied at the end of a lesson and gave him the Guinness Book of Records to come up with a record the school could beat.

Two minutes later he was back and the challenge was on.

The whole school went into training last Christmas.