Lochside Academy has trained its 1,000th pupil in CPR.
The Aberdeen school hit the milestone less than five years after opening in August 2018, and the training is already saving lives.
Depute head teacher Mike Will says the idea is that pupils are able to respond to emergency situations throughout their life without any ‘fear factor’.
All First Year pupils get taken out of class for a period to learn vital life-saving skills, both on adults and children.
They then get refresher training in Second Year, so that they are fully capable of performing CPR and using defibrillators.
‘Even bad CPR is better than no CPR’
“I always say to young people that if you do nothing in a situation where someone’s needing help, then they are going to die,” said Mike. “So it’s important that all pupils get the chance to participate in CPR training.
“It’s something we’re quite proud of. We do get parents contacting us to say they’re fully behind us as it’s such an important life-saving skill.
“It doesn’t take a lot of time, but the impact – saving a life – is huge.
“If those pupils are in an emergency situation in future, they know they’re not going to freeze, and not have a clue what to do.
“Even bad CPR is better than no CPR. It’s a crucial life skill that does need to be in the curriculum.
“It’s part of developing confident young people that can take action in an emergency situation.”
Evening Express paperboy used CPR skills to save life
Indeed, the training at Lochside Academy is already saving lives, as Mike explained.
“There was one young person we trained, he was a paperboy delivering the Evening Express.
“He got to one house when the woman there had a cardiac arrest. He used CPR and saved her life.”
And Mike thinks there’s been a generational change for the better when it comes to knowledge of CPR.
“When we’re training First Years, the first thing we ask is ‘who knows anything about CPR?’
“And I would say there’s an increasing number of kids coming from primary school who do have an idea of what CPR is.
“More hands go up every year, and that’s good to see.”
‘It could be needed on the bus or in Union Square’
Lochside Academy deliver the training in partnership with St John Scotland. The organisation’s Aberdeen chairman Joe Mackie said it ’empowered’ young people with a crucial life skill.
And Mike has seen first-hand that sense of empowerment.
“The reaction from the young people is of real interest,” said Mike.
“I think they can see how this might be something they have to do with a family member, or a neighbour, or someone in Union Square, or somebody in a bus.
“They might be the only person on hand who knows what needs to be done in that situation to save a life.
“So I think they get great encouragement from thinking ‘I may be the person who saves someone’s life because of what I know’.”
