A PRIMARY six pupil from Crossgates Primary School has been named Community First Aid Champion at the prestigious Scottish First Aid Awards ceremony held in Glasgow on Friday.

Alfie Thomson was unanimously voted the winner by a panel of judges for St Andrew’s First Aid’s eighth annual Scottish First Aid Awards.

He was honoured for his actions and attitude to first aid and for his role in teaching CPR to more than 100 fellow pupils from P5 to P7, supporting them in becoming life savers too.

With ambitions to become a paramedic, Alfie has attended a Junior First Aid and CPR course, learned other skills through YouTube and qualified as a Junior Lifeguard. Each day, he sets up a first aid station in the playground at school and brings in a first aid kit in case anyone hurts themselves.

Alfie first began his training during a school health week. Off his own back and in his own time, he sourced CPR dummies, planned his sessions, found relevant videos to use as visual aids and created a power point and FAQ document.

Jemma Thomas, Principal Teacher at Crossgates Primary School, said: “We are all so proud of Alfie and what he has achieved.

"He is a role model for other children in the school and his attitude towards leadership and responsibility shows maturity beyond his years.

“Everything he has delivered, he has done of his own accord. He articulated to me how important it was for primary school children to be able to learn first aid as ‘…they can be lifesavers too’.

"It has been a joy to watch him instil such confidence in others and share his specialist knowledge. He fully deservers to win this award.”

As part of his lessons, Alfie sourced old mobile phones so that children could role play calling 999 and handed out certificates to congratulate them on their new skills, which they could take home to their families.

Stuart Callison, chief executive of St Andrew’s First Aid, said: “Alfie epitomises the very essence of a first aid champion.

"His commitment, initiative, drive and determination to learn first aid and to teach others the skills to save a life are exceptional and he stood out in the category as an absolute winner. He should be very proud of what he has achieved and we are delighted to present him with his award.”

Over 400 people attended the St Andrew’s First Aid Scottish First Aid Awards which were held at the Doubletree by Hilton, on Cambridge Street in Glasgow and hosted by BBC’s David Farrell.

More nominations than ever before were received (58), highlighting first aid heroes across the 10 categories. A record number (13) were received for the Community First Aid Champion category