Children who championed lifesaving kits celebrated at Kettering launch

The children who came up with the idea to roll out specialist first aid kits to town centre businesses and late-night venues in Kettering were celebrated at a launch this week.

The specialist kits, which include a bleed control kit, were championed by students from both Corby Technical School and Bishop Stopford School, during this year’s County School’s Challenge.

The County Schools Challenge is a partnership project organised by Northamptonshire Police and Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service. Each year, NCSC picks a different theme and asks students to come up with social enterprise ideas to help educate others about a particular issue.

The theme for the 2019 competition (which culminated with a Grand Final held in July this year) was knife crime, and students were tasked to come up with social enterprise ideas to raise awareness and educate others about this subject.

Now, one of these ideas is being implemented with Kettering Pubwatch, in partnership with Kettering Borough Council's Purple Flag and Community Safety Teams, providing £1,500 funding to ensure that these lifesaving packs are available across the town centre.

PCSO Steve Coles, said: “Young people often get a lot of bad press, especially when it comes to knife crime, so what a great thing it is to celebrate young people who have gone out of their way to make their community a better and safer place.”

“PCSO Alex Franklin was a huge advocate for young people and always took part in the County Schools Challenge across the Kettering & Corby district and beyond, including this, his most recent work with the students from Bishop Stopford School. I know how proud he’d be to see this idea come to fruition.

“Well done to these young people – your idea and ingenuity will undoubtedly save lives.”