Ulong Public School students are world-beaters.

The entire student population at the small Coffs Harbour school, teachers and members of the wider school community participated in the Heart Foundation’s world skipping record event, held last term to mark the 25th anniversary of Jump Rope for Heart.

The school’s 40 students were among the 59,000 Australian school children who took part in the event which is expected to be verified by Guinness World Records™ in the coming weeks.

For three minutes, on May 9, school students across the country – including students from 96 NSW government schools – skipped at the same time in various locations as part of the world record attempt. The official record of 7,632 people skipping at the same time was established during 2006 in the United Kingdom.

Ulong Public’s principal Pam Howe said the event built upon the school’s past participation in Jump Rope for Heart events and the school’s focus on physical activity and healthy eating.

“It was just one of those lovely occasions when everyone was out in the sun together skipping,” Mrs Howe said.

Official observers kept an eye on proceedings during the attempt which was timed according to Greenwich Mean Time. At Sydney Olympic Park, 16 NSW public schools participated in a mass event.

Heart Foundation chief executive officer Tony Thirlwell said: “Thousands of kids throughout Australia, including over 30,000 students across NSW, skipped together in their attempt to beat the official record.”

More than 8 million students across the country have participated in the Jump Rope for Heart program since it was established in 1983.