About 350 kindergarten, primary and secondary students in schools under the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong broke a world record by making 21,294 paper airplanes in an hour last Saturday.

It has surpassed the previous record of 12,026 paper airplanes set in 2019 by AXA China Region Insurance.

"I did not know how to react when the record number was announced," said Lau Sai-chong, principal of CMA Choi Cheung Kok Secondary School.

"We did not expect the number of paper airplanes to exceed 20,000 as there were only 16,000 at 50 minutes. The sense of accomplishment was huge," he added.

In preparation for the challenge, the school provided clear guidelines to participants in the form of videos and documents, teaching them how to fold a qualified paper airplane that would be included in the count.

Participants also had several meetings with Guinness World Records on arrangements such as counting the paper airplanes and how to fold them to ensure the event can be run smoothly.

"I folded 120 paper airplanes that day," said Saqib Khan, a secondary five student at the school. "I was so excited that I was not aware of the time. It was an unforgettable experience."

The school has been promoting STEAM - science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics - education in accordance with the Hong Kong government's goal to build an international center of innovative technology.

It has been hosting the Hong Kong Inter-School Creative Paper Airplane Challenge for three years. More than 2,000 participants join the competition each year.

"A paper airplane consists of a lot of scientific knowledge and theories," Lau said. "We want our students to gain a sense of achievement shortly after learning theories and applying them, so their interest in the field will increase."

School kids wing it to a world record