Merseyside students campaign for defibrillators
Merseyside students have embarked on a mission to get defibrillators in to schools, campaigning alongside The Oliver King Foundation.
St Francis Xavier’s College in Woolton is one of the schools involved and has created letters, poems and posters urging David Cameron to ensure all schools have a defibrillator.
The school was asked to help The Oliver King Foundation on its mission of getting defibrillators in to all schools and public spaces across the country, an issue which is essential to the charity’s vision.
Oliver King was a Liverpool schoolboy who sadly passed away in 2011, aged 12, from Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS). This condition usually affects people between the ages of 12-35 and the government recognise that 19 young people die each week from SADS.
Oliver’s parents set up The Oliver King Foundation to help raise awareness of the condition as it can be controlled and monitored if detected. That’s why training members of the public and placing defibrillators in public spaces and schools is so important – it can help save lives.
On the fifth anniversary of Oliver’s death, the foundation has asked local organisations, businesses and schools across Merseyside to join together to wear something blue and donate £1 to the foundation.
Alongside this, pupils in Merseyside schools have created letters, poems and pictures urging David Cameron to ensure all schools have a defibrillator in place.
SFX College is one of the schools taking part in the mission and hope its involvement will raise awareness of SADS and encourage pupils to find out more.
Les Rippon, headteacher at SFX College says: “We are so proud to support The Oliver King Foundation. We are asking all our staff and pupils to wear something blue for a donation of £1 and have been engaging pupils with the defibrillator mission in our lessons last week.
“Pupils have created powerful pieces of art, poems and posters supporting the foundation urging the government to ensure all schools have access to a defibrillator. We have been so impressed by the work produced and to see the pupils feel so passionately about the mission.
“We have nine defibrillators at the school and feel safe knowing we have them in place should we need them. We believe all public spaces and schools should have access to a defibrillator, it’s a piece of lifesaving equipment which could make a big difference”