Awards for Coláiste Mhuire and Wilson's

Two Westmeath schools are beginning the new academic year with an Irish Heart Foundation award for training their students in the lifesaving skill of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Wilson’s Hospital School in Heathland and Coláiste Mhuire in Mullingar both received CPR 4 Schools awards, which recognise schools, teachers and students for remarkable efforts in CPR promotion and training.

They were among 36 schools across Ireland presented with 57 awards as part of the national heart and stroke charity’s CPR 4 Schools programme.

Since its inception, 2,630 teachers in 649 post-primary schools have taken part, learning how to deliver CPR and giving the programme a reach of over 350,000 post-primary school students.

The charity aims to build a generation of life savers by training students to perform CPR and respond in a cardiac emergency, use an AED (defibrillator) and respond when someone is choking.

“The CPR 4 Schools initiative has been a highlight for students in Wilson's Hospital School,” said teacher Janine Cosgrave.

“With hands-on training and real-life simulations, students are now equipped with lifesaving skills.

“The course's interactive approach has boosted students' confidence in emergency situations.”

Coláiste Mhuire teacher, Edel Holohan, described the programme as a massive success in peer-to-peer learning, with transition year students training all students in CPR.

“Two hero awards were also received by students for their amazing work to promote this programme in their school,” she said.

Brigid Sinnott, Resuscitation Manager with the Irish Heart Foundation, said the charity is delighted to recognise schools, teachers and students.

“Every year we are blown away by the work and commitment of schools to teach the lifesaving skill of CPR.

“We know that schools are busy places but they are making CPR a priority for their students and the impact is seen in their homes and communities.

“The Irish Heart Foundation’s mission is to build a nation of lifesavers through CPR training and schools are vital in helping us to achieve that.

“These schools are, quite literally, the beating heart of the programme and are recognised for empowering students with a vital lifesaving skill.”

A person’s chance of survival is doubled when CPR is started immediately.

By learning CPR once in your life, you are 10 times more likely to respond to an emergency than someone who has never received training.

Designed to embed within the school curriculum, the Irish Heart Foundation’s CPR 4 Schools programme is easy to run and takes just one hour to train a class.

Post-primary school teachers interested in signing up for the free programme can register by emailing: schools@irishheart.ie.

To find out more about CPR 4 Schools, visit irishheart.ie/cpr4schools.