Gosport school brings in emergency services to teach pupils about their local heroes

That was the lesson pupils at Hazelworth Primary School learned when they met and had talks from their local emergency services.

The school in Stone Lane, Gosport brought in the police, Hampshire Fire & Rescue Service, the RNLI, a doctor, the Royal Navy and HM Coastguard as part of the school’s Heroes’ Week.

Over the course of the week, the children had the chance to explore fire engines, police cars and RNLI boats, to allow them a closer look at their nearby ‘heroes’.

Yesterday saw Brian Graham, a rescue officer with HM Coastguard, visit along with a patrol vehicle.

The school’s deputy headteacher Kate Ashman said: ‘It’s been a fantastic experience for our pupils, who have had a tremendous time learning about their local heroes.

‘We wanted to show them that heroes are not necessarily celebrities and that they are all around us.

‘Hopefully, quite a few of them will have been left inspired by it all and may look at getting involved with the services when they are older.’

Brian gave the pupils a presentation about the coastguard before giving them a tour of the patrol vehicle.

The sessions were an inspiring experience for 11-year-old Charlotte.

She said: ‘It’s been very interesting because we’ve learnt all about the different jobs that they do.

‘I’ve definitely learned a lot more about the different services than I knew before and it makes you realise that they are heroes.’

Oliver, 11, who is a sea cadet said: ‘It’s been so interesting. I’ve enjoyed hearing about them as you don’t realise the jobs they do at times.’

Brian added: ‘It’s always a pleasure to come and meet schools and show them about the work we do.

‘They gave me some very tough questions!’