04 February 2020

Defibrillator unveiled at Hillside Primary School

An event has been held at Hillside Primary School to unveil a defibrillator.

The defibrillator will be maintained and managed by the school’s parent council. Pupils, teachers and community groups have worked together to raise money for its instillation on a wall on the outside of the school.

Cllr Gillian Owen, Aberdeenshire Council’s Education and Children’s Committee chair, said: “This is a fantastic example of pupils, teachers and the local community working together to provide a defibrillator which could save someone’s life. It is also great to see children and young people learning good habits about helping their community, teamwork and being healthy.”

Hillside Primary School Head Teacher Lesley-Anne Munro explained: “Pupils were encouraged by their class teacher to come up with suggestions for fund raising that would be beneficial to the whole community. One pupil shared the story of how her grandmother’s life was saved by a defibrillator and thought this would be something positive they could fundraise for. Many pupils were also saddened by the death of Zaine Grieve who was a pupil at Portlethen Academy.”

Hillside Primary School would like to thank the following for their assistance in fundraising and providing support for obtaining the defibrillator: Aberdeenshire Council’s Community Learning Team, Warburtons, the Co-Op, ASDA, KCA Deutag, the Ashvale, and Portlethen Men’s Shed.

An event was held at the school on Monday, February 3 where pupils and teachers cut a ribbon to unveil the defibrillator. The event was attended by Cllrs Owen and Bruce; Aberdeenshire Council’s Director of Education and Children’s Services Laurence Findlay and Lesley-Anne Munro.