Warwickshire County Council sets new Guinness World Record™ and creates the largest human bicycle

Warwickshire County Council’s Joint Managing Director, Monica Fogarty, visited staff and students at Kenilworth School and Sixth Form where she presented a Guinness World Record certificate to commemorate the school’s recent record-breaking achievement.

The Guinness World Records attempt, held at Kenilworth School and Sixth Form, was organised by Warwickshire County Council to celebrate the return of the OVO Energy Women’s Tour to the county for a second successive year.

1,148 people, mainly comprising students from Kenilworth School and Sixth form, and school staff, took a painstaking hour to ensure they had created the bicycle without any breaks in the links under the watchful eye of the Guinness World Records adjudicator.

Their feat eclipsed the previous record of 891 people, set by the community of Silloth-on-Solway, Cumbria, during the Tour of Britain in September 2015.

Warwickshire County Council's Joint Managing Director, Monica Fogarty, said: “I am so proud to pass on the certificate from Guinness World Records to commemorate this fantastic achievement by everyone at Kenilworth School and Sixth Form. With the event broadcast on television that evening, the people of Warwickshire had the chance to share the excitement and pride in what was achieved that day.

“It wasn’t just about breaking records however. The record breaking attempt promoted the Warwickshire stage of the OVO Women’s Tour this year. Early evaluation is showing that visitor figures to Warwickshire were well up on 2016, giving a real boost to the local economy. With more people following the route, after the cyclists had gone past, we are also confident that more and more people will take up cycling and that can only have benefits in the longer term. This certificate is not just a lasting memento but a small thankyou to the school for the inspiration that they provided in helping to make the Warwickshire stage of the tour such a great success.”

Hayden Abbott, head teacher of Kenilworth School and Sixth Form said: “At the time I said how delighted I was for the students and for everyone involved that we had achieved a world record. This certificate is a permanent reminder of our accomplishment and I hope it will inspire future generations of students.”