Eastlea students and teachers held a history lesson with a difference when they attempted to break the record for having the most nationalities in a history lesson.

The Canning Town school came up with the idea as it has students from across the world and decided it would be a fun and inclusive way to celebrate its diversity.

It resulted in 43 students and staff of different nationalities taking part in a 30 minute history lesson led by history teachers (and sisters) Nazanin and Leilee Shirani.

The record breaking attempt was filmed and watched by independent witnesses who collected various documents to provide evidence of nationalities.

The school will now have to wait about seven weeks to find out if they have broken the record which currently stands at 20 nationalities.

Sheldon Cooper, from Year 11, who represented St Lucia, said: “I enjoyed the experience of taking part in the Guinness World record and felt that it was an opportunity in which I was able to represent my country. The activities we did in the lesson were very beneficial and I gained quite a lot of knowledge. The way in which the lesson was constructed made it exciting and enjoyable,”

Nazanin Shirani, assistant principal at Eastlea Community school, said: “The lesson was great fun to teach and it was fantastic to see how diverse we are as a school. The students were proud to represent the different countries, some of them were born here but they still feel a close affiliation to their heritage.

“All of the students participated and got fully involved in the lesson so there was great atmosphere in the room. It was a great privilege to be part of such an exciting project.”