A SCHEME developed in Oxford for teaching life-saving skills to children was commended in the Commons by Oxford East MP Andrew Smith.

The Labour MP weighed in to a debate about the teaching of such skills, and spoke about a programme developed in the city in the 1990s.

The debate was secured by Tory MP for Newton Abbot Anne-Marie Morris. She moved that “every pupil should leave school knowing how to save a life”.

Mr Smith said: “I want to refer to a programme that originated 15 years ago at the John Radcliffe Hospital in my constituency, which has been extended to nine other centres in the UK and emulated overseas in Hong Kong and Belarus.

“The injury minimisation programme for schools was, like most of the best ideas, very simple and obvious once someone was clever enough to think of it. The programme works by combining work in the classroom with a visit to hospital to learn emergency life skills.

“About 5,000 10 and 11-year-olds in Oxfordshire take part each year. Children enjoy it, teachers value it, and, most importantly, it works.”