What’s Going on with “6-7”? Why This Viral Chant Is Getting Banned in UK Schools
If you’re hearing kids shout “six-seven!” and making a weird up-and-down hand gesture in UK classrooms, you’re not imagining it, this strange chant really is a thing, and it’s driving educators wild.
How It Started
The phrase “6-7” (sometimes written as “6 – 7” or “67”) has no clear meaning – that is the point. It comes from the U.S., where rapper Skrilla released a drill track called “Doot Doot (6 7)” in late 2024/early 2025.
Social-media clips featuring the phrase exploded when basketball star LaMelo Ball – who is 6 ft 7″ tall – inadvertently became part of the trend.
The phrase is usually shouted when someone says the number “six” and others reply “seven,” often accompanied by a hand-motion: two upturned palms moving up and down, as if weighing something.
Why Schools Are Banning It
Teachers report the chant is everywhere: in maths classes when discussing page 67, during break times, on corridors and always when six or seven appears. A UK survey found that 80% of secondary teachers had heard it, and even 50% of primary school teachers had recorded incidents.
It’s not that it’s offensive, false or harmful, it’s simply disruptive. Students use it to derail lessons, elicit laughs, and provoke reaction. Teachers say it has become difficult to manage since it shows up whenever numbers “6” and “7” are mentioned.
Because of this, several schools in the UK (and elsewhere) have opted to ban the phrase during lessons, with punishments ranging from detention to writing “I will not say ‘6-7’ in class” lines. Some educators say that simply acknowledging it amplifies it.
What Does “6-7” Actually Mean?
Short answer: nothing clear.
Linguists and meme-analysts say the phrase functions as a piece of absurdist youth humour, an inside joke that says: “we’re here, we’re bored, and we’ll disrupt because we can.”
One expert put it succinctly: “the meaning of ‘six-seven!’ and everything… it’s just something the young people of today are saying.”
What Teachers Are Doing
Rather than solely banning the chant, some teachers are experimenting with turning it around:
- One teacher reportedly asked students to write a 670-word essay for repeating it.
- Others are using the chant as a brain break – letting kids say it together briefly, then returning to the lesson.
- Some are avoiding counting aloud so that the trigger (“six” or “seven”) doesn’t occur.
The Bottom Line
The “6-7” chant isn’t about age-inappropriate content or serious misconduct, it’s about attention, disruption and a generation’s taste for absurd internet memes. Schools are banning it because it interrupts learning, not because it’s malicious.
For parents, teachers and students alike: recognising it as a symptom of digital youth culture, not a moral panic, may be the most helpful first step.
