Year 6 children (aged 10-11) at Rothley C of E Primary Academy welcomed Alan Harrison-White, from heart charity the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust (JHMT), who came in to teach them more about how to react in an emergency situation.

The school has recently paid to have a new defibrillator fitted, with half of the funding coming from the British Heart Foundation. The JHMT provided funding for the external defibrillator cabinet which has allowed the unit to be fitted outside, near the school entrance.

Alan taught the children a mnemonic to help remember the steps they need to take in dealing with an emergency situation. They discussed who is the most important person at the scene, what to do if you don't have a phone to call the emergency services and how to put a breathing casualty into the recovery position.

Following this, Alan showed the children how to perform chest compressions on a non-breathing casualty, allowing them plenty of time to practise their new skills. Finally, he demonstrated how to use a defibrillator and demonstrated how easy it is to use one. All the children then had the opportunity to practise using the defib.

Alan Harrison-White from the JHMT said: "Our message is that everyone can be involved in saving a life. From the age of about 10, children can learn how to use a defibrillator. Younger children can learn how they can help to raise the alarm if someone collapses. It's really important that we embed life-saving skills from a really early age because sudden cardiac death isn't inevitable, it's preventable."

Helping to create the next generation of lifesavers could help to change the shocking statistic that in Britain, 12 young people aged 12-35 years old die each week from undiagnosed heart problems.

Year six teacher Alex McLugash said: "The 59 children who took part over the fortnight Alan was in school all gained so much from the experience and we would all like to thank him, and the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust, for the opportunity to develop 59 new life savers in our community.

"This project will now become an annual event, seeing each new year 6 cohort learn the vital basic lifesaving skills."

Deputy headteacher Kate Barrs said: "We're really pleased to have a new defibrillator at school and very grateful to the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust for their assistance with this project. It has also presented us with a good opportunity to find out more about sudden heart deaths and how they can affect young people, and to address this topic, sensitively, with our pupils."