HATHERLEIGH Primary and Highampton Primary are among 16 schools in Devon signed up to St John Ambulance's Big First Aid Lesson, with less than a month to go until it is broadcast.

The free, one-hour, online first aid session (http://www.sja.org.uk/bigfirstaidlesson">www.sja.org.uk/bigfirstaidlesson) hosted by television presenter Claudia Winkleman will be streamed into classrooms on Friday, June 12.

 St John Ambulance is helping to address public opinion in the South West that first aid lessons should be a national curriculum requirement, according to research it recently carried out.

The charity also found that nearly 55 per cent of children in the region have no life saving knowledge at all, leaving them without the skills to deal with basic emergency situations.

The lesson will combine first aid training and 999 scenarios with real life stories, as well as plenty of opportunities for pupils to join the conversation via Google Hangouts.

It is aimed at students between seven and 16 years old.

This year's event will focus on first aid skills that might be needed over the summer holidays and pupils will learn how to confidently deal with head injuries, asthma attacks and anaphylactic shock, which can happen to people who have allergies.

St John Ambulance's regional director Steve Hargreaves said: 'Our Big First Aid Lesson addresses the public's desire for first aid education in the classroom while it doesn't feature in the national curriculum.

'We hope they can help us motivate their child's school to take part — it could be the most important lesson they ever learn.

'Like parents and teachers, we want to give children the best start in life by giving every young person the chance to learn first aid.

'There is nothing worse than feeling helpless in an emergency and although we hope they'll never need to use these skills, they can be a real life line.'

For more information about the Big First Aid Lesson or to register, go to http://www.sja.org.uk/bigfirstaidlessont">www.sja.org.uk/bigfirstaidlessont