QUICK-THINKING school staff have been recognised for their bravery after saving a boy who’s heart stopped for six minutes during a PE lesson.

Caretaker Shahzad Ahmed, teaching assistant Eleanor Singh and PE instructor Mohamed Hussein are to be awarded Royal Humane Society Resuscitation Certificates for bringing nine-year-old Dominik Glowacki back to life, at Chalkhill Primary School, in Wembley.

A classmate raised the alarm when the usually active and football-loving boy from Wembley collapsed while playing a game of rounders.

Mrs Singh, who rushed over with 21-year-old PE teacher Mr Hussein, said: “He was lying face down so we turned him over and he was pale and blue. I don’t know how I was keeping calm – maybe, being a mother, my instinct just kicked in and my priority was to keep him alive.”

The teachers called the emergency services and alerted Mr Ahmed, the first aider, who gave him chest compressions while Mrs Singh relayed instructions from the ambulance operator over the phone.

Mr Ahmed said: “I ran over and he was completely blue and he wasn’t breathing so I knew he needed CPR. I started mouth to mouth with Mo holding his legs until the ambulance came.

“I didn’t panic and I was patient. I just tried my best and that was what saved his life.”

He added: “I just felt proud as when the ambulance came he was breathing again.

“I was very happy because he is a survivor and he is still alive. That is the biggest achievement you can have, to save someone’s life.”

Mrs Singh, 37, said: “When he started breathing everyone was so relieved and we were probably all in shock still. I was in shock, I have never had anything like that before.

“He is a cheerful little boy. He has got a lovely personality and he is always smiling.”

Dominik’s heart stopped for six minutes during the incident in October last year and he suffered a further three cardiac arrests in the ambulance on the way to hospital.

Doctors discovered Dominik had a hereditary heart condition and will need to have a pacemaker fitted in later life.

However, school staff say he is back to his old self and is able to participate in sports.

Head teacher Rose Ashton said: “Such a critical incident highlighted the bravery and professionalism of the team who were focused at dealing with the most serious incident that could have happened in a school and thanks to God the outcome was positive and I am very proud of Dominik and my school.”

Dick Wilkinson, secretary of the Royal Humane Society, said: “To save a life is the most wonderful thing any-one can do for a fellow human being. These three richly deserve the awards they are to receive.”

A date is yet to be decided for the presentation of the certificates.