Aylesbury College students learn how to save lives with CPR training

Students at Aylesbury College are being taught vital life-saving skills which will benefit them for years to come.
A cardiac model used as part of the trainingA cardiac model used as part of the training
A cardiac model used as part of the training

Under new proposals put forward by the government, school children in England will have to learn first aid.

Draft legislation says primary school children will be taught basic first aid, such as dealing with head injuries and calling emergency services.

Secondary school children will learn life-saving skills such as CPR and the purpose of defibrillators.

And Buckinghamshire College Group has already been offering this kind of training.

The college set up its HealthTec Thames Valley facility at the Aylesbury campus last year to help teach college students and school children how to administer first aid and to give them basic and more advanced emergency skills.

Equipment for demonstrating cardiac arrest and how to administer CPR are supported by a more advanced interactive simulation facility to help learners understand how to deal with emergencies.

“The facilities are very popular with local schools and the children enjoy the many different scenarios and experiences that can be put together,” said HealthTec Thames Valley manager, Adam Poland.

The British Heart Foundation said the new legislation would improve "shockingly low survival rates from cardiac arrests".

Education Secretary Damian Hinds said he wanted to give young people "the tools they need to be ready to thrive when they leave school". The plan was announced as part of new guidelines on relationships and health education in schools.