A quick thinking teacher saved the life of a choking pupil – less than 24 hours after she attended a St John Ambulance training session. Richmond Gabriel was tucking into sweets being shared by friends at St Mary’s RC Primary at home time when one became lodged in his throat. He was unable to speak but dashed over to Jo Callow, Deputy Headteacher. The seven-year-old was red in the face and struggling to breathe, so knew she had to act quickly. She placed her left arm in front of Richmond’s chest and delivered swift blows to his back using the heel of her hand. On the fourth blow, out popped a large boiled sweet. Along with colleagues, Mrs Callow had, the previous evening, undergone training from St John Ambulance, which visited the school for a staff inset evening organised by the headteacher and demonstrated ‘Choking Charlie’, a life-sized dummy used for practice purposes. Mrs Callow said: ‘Richmond came to me coughing and spluttering. I asked if he was choking and he just nodded, so I talked to him while slapping him on the back, explaining to him what I was doing so he would be less frightened. On the fourth slap, the sweet came flying out of his mouth. ‘I explained to Richmond what had happened and made sure he had lots to drink to soothe his throat.’ Mrs Callow said: ‘I have taught for 20 years and, thankfully, have not had a similar situation. It was such unbelievable timing, having just had the training from St John Ambulance. It was reassuring to know that what we thought was tricky to do on dummies could be done with such positive results on a child.’ Gabriel’s grateful mum Corazon said she and her husband Rolando were full of praise for the teacher, who explained what had happened when they collected him. ‘I am very glad Mrs Callow had the confidence to give first aid and was alert to the danger Richmond was in,’ Mrs Gabriel said. ‘I am very thankful to her.’ Although a little shocked and sore immediately after last week’s incident, Richmond has thankfully recovered fully, although he is under strict instructions from his mum to chew sweets more carefully before swallowing them. The school’s training was delivered by Helen Bennett, St John Ambulance’s schools’ liaison officer, and her husband Phil, who leads many of the charity’s commercial and community courses. Helen visits schools to demonstrate life-saving techniques to pupils and staff and runs a first aid club at one primary. Helen said: ‘St John Ambulance provides training that means someone can be the difference in a life-or-death situation. When someone chokes, they are powerless to act themselves and timely intervention is critical. It is amazing that the very day after attending our in-school session, Mrs Callow found herself rushing to help Richmond. She did exactly the right thing and her actions illustrate how vital it is for everyone to learn simple techniques that can mean they save a life.’ Tim Short, Headteacher at St Mary’s, said: ‘Every year we refresh or visit a new area of first aid or health welfare. This year, due to particular health needs of some of our pupils, we decided to invite the school nurse to refresh our staff with the use of the Epipen and St John Ambulance to teach staff methods for dealing with choking. Little did we realise how relevant this would be within 24 hours ‘We are all extremely proud of how Mrs Callow followed the St John Ambulance procedure and remained calm under difficult and distressing circumstances. We are grateful that both the school nurse and St John Ambulance are available to help with our vital first aid training.’ For further information about St John Ambulance Isle of Man or to find out how to sign up for first aid courses, volunteer or support its work via donations, please ring 01624 674387 or visit www.sja.org.uk/sja/counties/isle-of-man.aspx - Ends -