Pupils from Ealing school reach national final of first aid competition

Pupils from Drayton Manor High School in Hanwell, Ealing, have proven their life saving skills by securing a place in the final of the St John Ambulance National Schools’ First Aid Competition on 26 June.

The students from the school competed against teams from seven other schools to win the senior contest of the London regional round of the competition, which was held on 22 May at Bounds Green.

The team, made up of four students and one reserve, will now be preparing to triumph at the finals, which will be held at the popular attraction Drayton Manor in Tamworth, Staffordshire. There, they will compete against other senior teams from across the country.

As part of the regional competition, each team was asked to show initiative, communication skills and confidence when applying first aid in challenging emergency scenarios with ‘live’ casualties, such as treating severe bleeding, a dog bite or asthma attack.

Pupils from Drayton Manor High School learned first aid using St John Ambulance’s schools resources www.teachthedifference.org.uk.

Teacher Zafar Khwaja of Drayton Manor High School commented: ‘The students have worked extremely hard to achieve this award. Not only have they developed their first aid skills, but we have seen their confidence grow and their ability to adapt to different situations develop. First aid not only equips students with the skills to save a life, but has a huge impact on the student’s self-esteem and confidence.’

Jo Buchan, Education Officer at St John Ambulance, said: ‘All of the competing teams have done really well and it’s brilliant to see so many students passionate about first aid.

‘We’d love more teachers to give their pupils the opportunity to learn first aid as it could be the difference between life and death and today’s event goes to show that children enjoy learning it too.’

The winning junior team from the London region, beating off competition from six other schools, is St Christopher’s Preparatory School, Wembley.

St John Ambulance teaches valuable life skills to young people by training them in first aid, in schools and through its youth schemes. In 2012 the charity delivered training of valuable life saving skills to over 93,000 young people.

The charity’s free online schools resource, Teach the Difference, gives teachers the ability to teach up to 28 first aid skills with complete lesson plans and videos, including how to treat choking and chest pains. It also meets a range of National Curriculum requirements, for example, first aid for PSHE, PE, and science. For more information visit www.teachthedifference.org.uk .

May 28, 2013