Dumfries pupils are campaigning for lifesaving equipment at their school
Their petition has been sent to the Scottish Parliament.
Last updated 21st May 2024
Troqueer Primary School is fighting to have two defibrillators installed at their school.
This comes after discovering the lack of those machines in the local area.
Primary 6 and 7 pupils decided to start a petition and enlisted the help of their MSP Finlay Carson, who has helped them with their application and send it off to Holyrood which has now been accepted.
The two final year groups have been working closely with the community to help raise money and awareness, helping out at shops and even organising a bingo night for Troqueer residents.
Our reporter Ruth Ridley has visited the school and spoken with some of the pupils involved in this project.
Niamh from P6 was telling her how having a defib on site could save precious time:
“Because if something happened with someone’s heart health in the school, we would have to go to the shop up there and it would take a lot of time to run back and help them.”
She goes on to say that they all hope this will be the start of transforming Scotland’s schools into a safer place:
“We done some research and every school in England has a defibrillator, but Scotland doesn’t, so we want to change that.”
They were also explaining how a paramedic named Ally demonstrated with an old defibrillator and gotten the kids to participate in possible real-life scenarios to prepare them for any situation.
From taking part in the exercise, it helped put into perspective just how valuable a defib can be.
“It’s very important because having one could make a difference in the school - it could be a younger pupil or a young life we don’t want anything to happen to” says Max in P7.
They’re hoping their petition will see two life saving machines installed on site – on outside in the playground area and another somewhere inside the school.
Both year groups are now waiting for the Scottish Parliament to cast their decision and will be updated with any news.