It has become the bane of many parents’ and teachers’ existence: children bleating out “six seven” for apparently no reason.
So parents of pupils at Welland Academy in Peterborough will be unimpressed to discover that none other than the prime minister was encouraging their youngsters in the viral phenomenon.
In a clip posted to Keir Starmer’s Instagram account, the prime minister can be seen reading with a young girl who points out she is on “page six-seven”, prompting him to start the dance move – a juggling like motion – that accompanies the infuriating craze.
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Before long, other members of the class are joining in and laughing hysterically.
“That was a bit wild,” Starmer says as he exits the classroom, before he is swiftly reprimanded by the school’s headteacher, Jo Anderson. “You know children get in trouble for saying that in our school?”
The prime minister, who was visiting the school along with the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, apologises as he walks down the corridor, adding: “I didn’t start it, Miss.”
The phrase “six-seven” appears to originate with the Philadelphia rapper Skrilla’s 2024 track Doot Doot (6 7), in which it’s either a reference to police radio code, or 67th Street.
But it really went viral when the song was repeatedly used to soundtrack video clips of the NBA basketball star LaMelo Ball, who is 6ft 7in.
