A 15-YEAR-OLD who suffered a cardiac arrest at school in York has finished his GCSEs - weeks after staff saved his life.

The odds of Alex Cowes surviving when he collapsed in a games lesson and stopped breathing were just eight per cent, Yorkshire Ambulance Service said, but teachers and receptionists worked together to carry out CPR and used a defibrillator to shock his heart back into action. 

Alex has since returned to Fulford School and completed 14 GCSE exams, starting exams four days after having a cardioverter defibrillator implanted in his chest to monitor his heartbeat.

Remarkably Alex also met the footballer Fabrice Muamba - who has the same heart condition - last year when the whole school was taught how to save someone's life with CPR. Little did he realise that he would reap the benefit of people taking the time to learn this vital life-saving skill.

Alex, from Escrick, said: "You wouldn't expect it of a school to be able to react in the way they did. I can't thank them enough, for them to react so quickly is just brilliant."

Alex remembers collapsing in an indoor game of cricket after feeling dizzy. 

His PE teacher Kat Fairbairn immediately raised the alarm and Shona Jagger, head of girls PE and Erica Melsom, the school’s medical officer, started CPR after they realised he had stopped breathing. 

Sue Igoe, a first aider and member of the administration team, used the defibrillator to shock his heart into a regular rhythm. 

Remarkably, Alex was sitting up and talking when York-based paramedic Terry Rawcliffe and emergency care assistant George Benjamin arrived to take him to York Hospital.

Cardiologists believe Alex may suffer from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Further tests are now being carried out to determine whether it is genetic. 

Alex’s parents Nick and Sue Cowes, who also have two other children, Harrison, 11, and Simmone, 18, are determined to raise the profile of the importance of learning CPR and having defibrillators in the community.

Nick said: “When we look back at what has happened over the last few weeks, we feel total shock but also total gratitude. How do you thank someone for saving your son’s life? It goes way beyond any gifts or words; they acted so professionally that day, we can’t thank them enough.

“We feel so blessed that Fulford School has been so proactive in terms of having an on-site defibrillator, with plans for two more, as well as enabling 1,050 pupils to have CPR training as part of Yorkshire Ambulance Service’s Restart a Heart Day last year. Everyone should know CPR and if it could be put on the national school curriculum, together with defibrillator awareness, that would be a massive step in the right direction.”

Dan Bodey, deputy head at the school, said: "I'm just over 40 years old and have been in teaching for 20 years. It will remain the most amazing day I have ever seen." 

- Yorkshire Ambulance Service will be repeating the success of Restart a Heart Day on October 16, when 97 schools and over 20,000 pupils will be taught CPR, including 250 year seven pupils at Fulford School. This year’s event is set to be the world’s biggest mass CPR training day.