A joint partnership initiative between the national charity RALPHH and Kingston Grammar School has boosted safety in the Fairfield area of Kingston.
The public now have access to a defibrillator that has been installed on the exterior of the Fairfield building of the School. This area overlooks the sporting and recreation activities that take place on the Fairfield, which include regular football matches and summertime family picnics. The cost of this has been shared by the charity and Kingston Grammar School and tackles a short coming in the area since Kingston Council’s closure of the Kingfisher Leisure Centre for structural reasons in December 2019.
The launch event was especially pertinent as the Berrylands-based charity takes its name (Robert Allen Promotion and Health Hearts Trust) from a former senior prefect at the School, but who was also a winner of National Schools honours in rowing. Sadly, Robert died unexpectedly of a heart attack in August 2018, with his shocked friends and family deciding to campaign for better testing and the wider availability of defibrillation equipment at sporting locations. Since started, the charity has financially helped schools across the country to provide defibrillators at five locations, with a further partnership in East Anglia planned for early spring. It also the ambition to establish a programme of ECG testing for young people before they become involved in strenuous sporting activity.
As well as the Headteacher of KGS, Stephen Lehec being pictured in attendance, others in the photograph are left, Laurence Allen, brother of the late Robert, who was also a former student at KGS; and centre Tim Liversage who is today both a trustee of RALPHH and also Director of Rowing at Emanuel School but who first started his coaching career at Kingston. In the foreground is the single scull boat named “Rob” which was named in honour of the achievements of Robert six years before his death.
