Sidmouth College has backed a nationwide campaign to teach all of its students ‘vital’ lifesaving skills.

The school has joined forces with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to train staff and pupils as part of its Nation of Lifesavers scheme.

Since launching the initiative in 2014, the BHF has provided free CPR training kits to nearly 2,500 schools – helping to train 900,000 pupils countrywide.

Sidmouth College principal James Ingham-Hill said he was ‘thrilled’ to be ablle to offer lifesaving skills, after a defibrillator was fitted at the school. He added: “It takes just 30 minutes to learn this valuable skill, which could one day help save someone’s life.

“By empowering young people with the confidence and knowledge to step in and carry out CPR in an emergency, we can help improve out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival rates in Sidmouth.”

The school will begin with training for staff and hopes to roll out the sessions first to sixth formers and heads of houses, before opening it up to the rest of the school.

According to the charity, more than 30,000 people have heart attacks out of hospital every year in the UK - but less than one in ten people survive, partly because people do not know ‘vital’ CPR skills.

Since launching its campaign three years ago, 1.5million people have signed up.

The charity says its ambition is for all schools to teach CPR and for defibrillators to be made available in the places they are needed most.

Sara Askew, head of survival at the BHF, said: “When someone suffers a cardiac arrest, every second counts and performing immediate CPR can in some cases double the person’s chance of survival.

“Knowing how to react when you’re faced with a cardiac arrest can mean the difference between life and death.

“We’re delighted that Sidmouth College has joined our Nation of Lifesavers campaign by training its pupils in CPR to ensure that many more potential lifesavers are walking the streets of Sidmouth.”