Defibrillator donation delights Houghton Regis school

Thornhill Primary head boy and girl with Lindsey Davenport of Bellway, the company that kindly donated the defibrillator which has been installed at the school for the local community

A plaque has been unveiled at the school to mark its installation.

The life-saving device was donated by construction company Bellway which is building more than 300 homes in the area, including a new school building.

It has been installed in the main entrance of Thornhill Primary School, which is expanding from one-form entry to three-form entry as part of the new Linmere neighbourhood taking shape on the northern edge of the town.

The expansion programme has involved the construction of a new school building – now completed off Silver Birch Avenue – to cater for the school’s older children, while the younger year groups and nursery remain at the existing Grove Road site next door.

The £1,350 defibrillator is ready to use in the event of a pupil, staff member of visitor suffering a cardiac arrest.

Deputy headteacher Chris Gunning said all staff have regular first aid training and have recently been trained in the use of an AED in the event of a cardiac emergency: "From this, it was identified a few members of our school community could be at risk of this type of emergency, so we decided having a defibrillator on site would be beneficial.”

The equipment was installed and added to The Circuit, the national network showing the location of all defibrillators, and is accessible to emergency services as well as the local community.

Mr Gunning added: “We would like to thank Bellway for their very kind donation.”

Bellway spokesperson Lindsey Davenport said: “We are honoured to be able to unveil this plaque which sits next to the defibrillator.

"Obviously, we hope that this life-saving piece of equipment will never have to be used but it is reassuring to know that it is there if it is ever needed.”

> In addition to the new school building, the wider Bellway at Linmere development will consist of about 5,000 new homes, shops, community facilities and 190 acres of public open space.