Learning first aid at school not only equips students with valuable expertise, but can also boost self-confidence, social interaction and self-esteem

Children can save lives too; they just need to be taught how. At St Paul’s Catholic High School in Wythenshawe, every pupil has done a first-aid training course – an important and extremely valuable life skill.

The school believes that students need a good understanding of first aid in case of an emergency. When someone is having a heart attack, has serious bleeding, is choking, is unconscious or in cardiac arrest, knowing what to do to help keep them alive until professional help arrives can give their chances of survival a significant boost. In fact, the children could make the difference between a life lost and a life saved.

The training equips the students with the confidence and skills to help those who need it, whether in school, out in the community or in future workplaces. Some of the students have told us that they have been able to use their first-aid training at home to help with small injuries such as cuts and burns. They have also been able to advise their parents what to do when there has been an accident in the family. (Happily, they have not reported any major emergencies.)

St Paul’s Catholic High School is a voluntary academy in the Diocese of Shrewsbury for boys and girls aged 11-16. In the first instance, the Red Cross came into school to train eight members of staff. They spent three days training the first aiders in how to train others – and then adapting the training to suit the students before they launched the programme.