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A GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ Official Attempt for National Numeracy Day

28 Apr 2022

School children across the UK are joining celebrities to set an official GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title, most viewers of a rolling numbers livestream, by taking part in a mass ‘number roll’ to celebrate National Numeracy Day on 18 May.

Join the live stream on 18 May

Rocking and Rolling Numbers characters

The Guinness World Records official attempt number roll

The charity National Numeracy and Times Tables Rock Stars have teamed up for a Rocking and Rolling Numbers live event, to get children across the UK feeling positive and confident about maths.

Number rolling is a catchy call-and-response chant with accompanying actions that help kids feel good about numbers. 

At 9.30am on 18 May, Times Tables Rock Stars and National Numeracy Ambassadors, Strictly Come Dancing star Katya Jones and TV presenter Bobby Seagull will be leading a 5 times table number roll. 

The number roll will be livestreamed

It will be live streamed on YouTube, so that children across the UK in class, or at home, can join in with Katya, Bobby and the Times Tables Rock Stars team who will be streaming live from King Solomon Academy in London.

A Guinness World Records adjudicator will oversee the attempt for 'most viewers of a rolling numbers live stream' – so the more classes and children at home number rolling, the better!

How to take part

Go to this page at 9.30am on 18 May and start streaming the video. If we get to 1500 people (or more) watching at the same time, that's a new world record! 

What they say

Katya Jones said: “I’m not a mathematician, but believe numbers are an exciting, playful game! It is important to foster a positive mindset with our children, so I am delighted to take part in National Numeracy Day and can’t wait to help get everyone involved!" 

Bruno Reddy, Founder and CEO of Maths Circle, the creators of Times Tables Rock Stars said: "Rocking and rolling numbers is a fantastic way to get everyone in the room enthusiastic about the tables at the same time and this mass participation event - livestreamed on our YouTube channel - will give the nation a collective boost in number confidence. After all, Maths Circle and National Numeracy share the ambition that one day every child will become an adult who can say "I am good at maths".

Sam Sims, CEO of National Numeracy, the organiser of National Numeracy Day, said: “We want the nation to feel number confident with the maths in everyday life. So what better way to help put children on the path to feeling good about numbers, than a song and dance?”

Why National Numeracy Day is vital

In the UK, 49% of the UK’s working-age population having the expected numeracy levels of a primary school child, significantly below the average for developed countries.

So, National Numeracy Day 2022 is bigger and better than ever. Our website offers a host of free, fun and helpful activities, events and resources for adults and children to get involved, from tip sheets to download and videos to watch as well as quick and easy ways to get started on improving numeracy via the National Numeracy Challenge. 

About us

National Numeracy is a charity dedicated to helping people feel confident with numbers and using everyday maths. Its work improves how people understand and work with numbers in everyday life, sparking better opportunities and brighter futures. 

Maths Circle is an internationally trusted EdTech company who create award-winning maths learning platforms dedicated to helping children acquire fundamental numeracy skills. Their mission is to make maths fun and improve maths outcomes though their engaging programmes Times Tables Rock Stars and NumBots. 

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Become a National Numeracy Day Champion Organisation

Sign up to be a National Numeracy Day Champion and help your school, organisation or community get number confident! In the build up to 18 May 2022 you will receive free, fun materials and resources to use and share and join over 2,810 others Champions helping the nation get on with numbers.

More information for schools

More information for workplaces and orgs