Hackney pupils to receive vital life saving lessons thanks to St John Ambulance and Babcock partnership
Monday, 25 April, 2016
Up to 1,000 pupils in Hackney will learn how to become life savers thanks to a partnership between St John Ambulance, the nation’s leading first aid charity, and Babcock International Group, the UK’s leading engineering support services company.
Babcock’s Support Services Division, SSD, will be funding a series of St John Ambulance first aid training courses to pupils throughout the borough over the coming months.
The partnership unites the two organisations in a common charitable cause – giving school children the skills to be the difference in a life or death emergency.
The first local school to benefit from the partnership will be Our Lady’s Convent High School in Stamford Hill where 60 pupils aged 16 to 18will learn emergency first aid during two training sessions in May.
The partnership is keen to take its life saving lessons into as many local classrooms as possible in 2016 and is inviting teachers in Hackney who want to find out more about the training to get in touch.
The London SJA schools team on can be contacted on 020 7258 7075 or email
Mary Smith, Schools and Community Projects Manager for London St John Ambulance, said: ‘Our partnership with Babcock is enabling St John Ambulance to create a new generation of lifesavers.
‘This will bring long lasting benefit to local communities as all the young people trained will have the skills and confidence to intervene in a life or death situation. None of us knows when we could be faced with a serious medical emergency – it could be in the home, the street, the workplace or at school. Knowing how to save a life is one of the most valuable lessons anyone can learn.’
Lorna Sampson, Operations Director within Babcock SSD, said: ‘Babcock has great partnerships with the local authorities we work with and our current partnership with St John Ambulance is a great complement to that engagement.
‘Ensuring children and young people at such a young age are equipped with the skills to save lives is a tremendous thing and the quality of training Hackney children will be receiving is just fantastic.
‘Through our sponsorship with the St John Ambulance team we’ll be helping nearly 1,000 pupils across Hackney alone to receive these life-saving skills and they will be able to take what they’ve learned in these sessions out into the community.’
The first aid training sessions range from two-hour courses focusing on bleeding and bandaging to full day courses covering resuscitation and other essential life saving skills such as dealing with choking, shock, burns, fainting and severe chest pain.
