A total of 789 students, parents and teachers turned the De La Salle gymnasium into the world’s largest nativity scene yesterday morning in the hope of making it into the Guinness World Records book.

Angels, shepherds, a donkey and the youngest participant, six-week-old Aidan Pawley, created the “Most Living Figures in a Nativity Scene”.

Although the heavens opened, nothing could dampen the students’ Christmas spirit as they packed the Cospicua school’s gym for the event before singing Christmas carols.

The current record is 743, which was achieved by the UK’s Welton Baptist Church and the Community of Midsomer Norton on December 2, 2011.

To ensure that everything was well documented, 17 stewards and a public notary had the task of overseeing the event and reporting back to Guinness World Records for final approval.

Speaking at the event, Bro Martin Borg, director of the De La Salle brothers who dressed up as one of the three kings, said through the record-breaking attempt they were bringing back the religious element into Christmas.

He said this was the first time the college had taken part in something of the sort, adding that months of preparation had gone into planning the event.