The Leicestershire Heartsafe Schools Programme is the first of its kind in the country and the aim is to teach every Year 10 student in the city and county emergency and resuscitation skills to increase the chances of lives being saved. Each school that attended has been equipped with a defibrillator – a piece of equipment that can save a life.
On the 28th February, we and two other members of staff at Bosworth Academy along with many other schools in Leicestershire attended the launch of this valuable project at the Leicester Tigers’ ground. Upon entering the conference room, we were astounded by the amount of care and devotion that had gone into making this event possible, and the buzzing atmosphere around us. The opening speech, led by Dr. Doug Skehan, taught us the importance of knowing emergency resuscitation skills and the science behind it. Following his speech, we had the chance to listen to people whose lives were saved by CPR, which further emphasized that fact that a simple procedure can save a life.

Following on from this, we then were lucky enough to be taught by a professional about how to perform CPR effectively and properly, and have a chance to ask interesting questions to survivors and doctors.
The aim for this project is that within a month to six weeks, CPR training is to be provided in schools, ensuring all students are equipped with the knowledge of how to save a life.

The day was enriching. Upon leaving, us, and I’m sure lots of other attendees were inspired by many facets of the project. We now are equipped with the skills save a life: there is nothing more inspiring than that. We look forward to preparing students at Bosworth with these vital skills, so if they should be needed, students will be able to act fast.

Stephen Gamage & Beth Kenney