Onion joke makes Year 6 class funniest in Britain

A one-liner about vegetables using the telephone has won a group of schoolchildren the title of funniest class in Britain.

The Year 6 Boyce class at Joy Lane Primary School in Whitstable, Kent, is celebrating winning the Beano's 2026 competition.

The joke that secured them the title? I didn't think food could make calls, but then: boom! Onion rings.

The class and their teacher Bethan Crowe, who was also crowned Britain's funniest teacher, will be depicted in the comic book as their prize.

Crowe said: "We knew we were on for a special one because the whole class was just a fit of giggles.

"It's absolutely adorable when you have 32 children just giggling and we thought we've got to use this one, it's so wholesome."

Pupil Jack said he "just thought really hard and then came up with" the joke, but added: "I don't really like onion rings that much."

"My brother, because he's a teenager, he was like 'oh, yeah, cool', but I think he was a tiny bit jealous," he told the BBC.

His classmate Alexis said she "couldn't believe it" and fell to her knees "speechless" after finding out they had won.

According to the Beano, the comic received hundreds of submissions that were then were whittled down to a shortlist for the judging panel.

The comic's director of mischief, Mike Stirling, said: "The winning joke was inventive and genuinely hilarious.

"Clearly, the future of comedy is in safe hands with Boyce class."

Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram and listen to BBC Radio Kent on Sounds. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.