The Wellbeing Committee at Cantref Primary School in Abergavenny set themselves a goal last September to raise enough money to buy a defibrillator for their school.

It was prompted by several children knowing of others who have been helped and also two children in school who have a heart condition which may require one to be near by.

They started off by putting a plea for donations from parents in the school newsletter. Mrs Francis (the school’s Wellbeing Lead) said: “Our parents were very generous and we would like to say a huge thank you them for their generosity”

But it wasn’t quite enough to purchase the defibrillator, so the committee decided to write to local companies asking for donations and sponsorship.

James (pupil Wellbeing Committee chairperson) said “We wrote letters to lots of local firms and two of them were extremely generous.”

Alanah (pupil Wellbeing Committee secretary) added: “The donations from Thomas Wealth Management and Robert Price meant that we had reached our target and could buy the defibrillator.”

When asked how he felt about their success, committee vice-chair, Cody said “I am really proud and thank everyone for their support.”

Mr Brunsdon (head teacher) commented: “This has been a wonderful project for the children as they have seen it right through from the initial idea, raising funds, purchasing and arranging training in how to use it. I was particularly impressed when I listened in on the meeting with Molly from Robert Price.

‘‘The children spoke with such knowledge and passion and it was obvious they had a clear target they wanted to reach. I am very proud of all of them.”

As soon as the defibrillator was in place, training was arranged – a defib is useless if no-body knows how to use it! Mr Peter Richards from the Calon Hearts charity spent a whole day with the school and trained all children from Years 2-6. He also stayed after school and trained all the staff. It is planned to offer another training session for parents in the autumn term.

The school’s charities committee were involved at this point as they asked Mr Brunsdon if the school could make a donation to the Calon Hearts charity as a thank you for the free training. A real whole school team effort.

The defibrillator is located within the school but can be accessed by the local community when the school is open.

Mrs Francis said: “I hope no-one will ever need to use it but we know it is there if we need it. I would like to say thank you to all the contributors for their generosity but also the children in the Wellbeing Committee.

‘‘They have pushed this from the very start and shown dedication and passion in order to achieve their target. A fantastic achievement!”

For more information on Robert Price Builders Merchants please visit their website at https://www.robert-price.co.uk/