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Since joining St John Ambulance at the tender age of eight, Tom Hughes, now aged 15, has dedicated over 500 hours of his spare time to the organisation. He has not only helped administer first-aid during public events, but also introduced first-aid training for young islanders in schools.
Tom recently received a Diana Award as recognition for his voluntary work. After getting an exclusive tour of 10 Downing Street, he has now returned to island life - between classes at Haute Vallée and more time at St John Ambulance, he told us the five things he would like to change about Jersey.
I may be slightly biased towards this; however, I do think that First Aid is an essential life skill that people should learn. I use the word compulsory as I believe that people dealing with young people and members of the public as part of their job should have to have First Aid Training by Law. Trained First Aiders would not only help those people who get cuts and grazes but it could also save peoples life.
Pictured: First-aid training should be mandatory says Tom Hughes.
At the moment only 1/10 people survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest; however, the more people trained, the more people will survive. As well as learning First Aid it will also build on your communication skills as you will learn how to communicate with a casualty and the skills you learn on a First Aid course will benefit everyday life.
In the United Kingdom, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of programmes and youth groups for young people. In Jersey, there is fewer than two dozen programmes and youth groups like The Duke of Edinburgh Award, Princess Trust and Cadet Organisations. However, the options we have don’t suit everyone.
Pictured: Youth Programmes can help when applying for a job.
Youth Programmes will not only benefit young people physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially they will also help them in the long run such as when they apply for a job having a youth group that you regularly attended or having the Duke of Edinburgh Award will help you stand out from other candidates. Programmes for Young People would also keep young people occupied, therefore, engage young people in activities which would help reduce crime.
If you visit any major beach destination such as Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro or Saint-Tropez, you will see early in the morning that there are tractors on the beach removing debris and seaweeds from sandy beaches. Jersey is one of the hottest places and has some of the best beaches in the British Isles but yet still doesn’t have regular beach cleaning.
Pictured: Seaweed does not make for an attractive beach, says Tom.
In the summer months, thousands of islanders and locals flock to St Brelade;s and St Ouen’s Bays. However, other beaches along our coastline are not used as much this may be due to the fact of them being covered in green seaweed or that people would just rather go to a beach they know is clean and safe where there are lifeguards on duty. If the beaches on the island were regularly groomed, this would attract more visitors and locals to use them, benefitting the island's economy as it would encourage businesses to open on more beaches.
Education is all about the grades you get, and if you get 10 A*s you are the smartest in your year, and you will end up with the best job and the best life. However, the Jersey education system does not accommodate kinaesthetic learners. More practical subjects would mean that more young people would start to enjoy school and the topics they are learning.
Pictured: "The Jersey education system does not accommodate kinaesthetic learners."
People learn in many different ways and schools should accommodate their teaching needs. Obviously some subjects would be harder to make practical; however, what the school put in, they will get out. Even though most GCSE courses are exam-based, the way you learn the course material is not, so you would need to work on exam technique. You should still be able to make lessons exciting and practical to benefit the whole group and not just the ‘academic’ students. Practical lessons would hopefully benefit Jersey's exam pass rate and give everyone the same opportunities as every student has potential. It is just about getting them to use this potential to their own benefit.
I know that young people have days like Prison Me No Way and talks from the emergency services. They are mainly about telling young people that actions have consequences; however, the ambulance, fire and police do not interact with today’s youth in other ways. They possibly should do regular Q&As at schools, so students not only get to know what Police Officers, Coastguards, Firefighters and Ambulance Crews do but maybe how they get to go down that career path and join that profession when they are older.
The more interaction the emergency services have with young people as it would develop a level of mutual respect. Having a relationship with young people may reduce the number of hoax 999 calls benefitting the services. It would also build relationships with the services and young people. So, emergency services and young people may wave to each other, or maybe the emergency service will stop and talk to them which will create more of a community spirit in the island.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and not those of Bailiwick Express.
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