Participants praised for saving a woman’s life while on their DofE practice Expedition

Seven Coventry pupils have been thanked by The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) charity after they helped save a woman’s life while on a practice expedition.

The young people from Finham Park School, who are all working towards their Silver DofE Award, were taking part in their practice Expedition in The Clent Hills at the end of April when they took a wrong turn and stumbled across a woman in difficulty. Realising she was having a stroke, the young people, all aged 14 and 15, sprang into action.

Mr Subhaan Sheikh, DofE Manager and maths teacher at Finham Park School, said: 

“One team of seven children slightly overshot a footpath and ended up in the wrong place. While they checked their map to get back on course, a woman came out from the house next to them and appeared to be in some difficulty and they quickly realised she was having a stroke.

“Two students went to flag down a passing car, two students ran to a neighbour, and one quickly got his emergency phone out of his rucksack. Another two stayed with the woman throughout and tried to talk to her to keep her calm. Once they had control of the situation and had ensured an ambulance was on its way, they called me and stayed with her until paramedics took over.

“We were contacted by the woman’s daughter a couple of days later to inform us her mum is now out of hospital and doing better. Her daughter said that the swift actions and clarity of thought of our students saved her mum’s life.

“We are immensely proud of our students. These actions encompass our school values of humility, courageousness, integrity, kindness, and perseverance. The DofE encourages participants to have a positive impact on their communities, which these children certainly have done.”

The young people who saved the woman’s life said:

Jessica, 15 – “I’m proud to have been part of a successful group that saved a woman’s life”.

Aidan, 14 – “I’m very glad we got the opportunity to save someone’s life through DofE. It was very lucky we were walking past.”

Jack, 15 – “I’m just happy to be part of a team that could assist in saving someone’s life.”

Annalise, 15 – “I’m very pleased to be part of a team which could have saved a lady’s life.”

The DofE Central England Region has now given the group certificates of thanks in recognition of their quick thinking that day.

Jackie Bull, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award’s Director for England said:

“It is wonderful to hear how these amazing young people quickly identified a member of the public who needed help and worked together, as a team, to ensure they were supported until the emergency services arrived.

“The skills, resilience, and self-belief they showed in a difficult situation were inspiring and the group should be incredibly proud of how they responded, dealing with the situation in such a calm respectful way. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award aims to provide opportunities for young people to prove that they are ready for anything and that is absolutely what this group demonstrated on that day.”