Millburn Academy Pupils Praised for Quick Thinking in Averting Serious Accident
Two pupils from Millburn Academy, Inverness, have been highly praised for their quick thinking in averting a serious accident after the teacher who was driving the school minibus home from a rugby match in Wester Ross took ill at the wheel and fell unconscious.
John Clark (Secondary 2) and Andrew Kellock (Secondary 1) were sitting in the front seat of the school minibus when teacher David Aitchison blacked out and slumped over Andrew.
Between them the two boys engaged the handbrake and steered the minibus until it came to rest on the roadway near the Cluanie Inn.
A passer-by administered first aid to Mr Aitchison, who was taken to hospital in Broadford for treatment. He was later transferred to Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, where he is undergoing tests.
The children were tended to by two Highland Council countryside rangers, John Phillips and Sandy MacPhee and taken to the Cluanie Inn before being taken home in a minibus hired from Kyle as the clutch of their own minibus was burned out in the incident.
Head Teacher Delia Thornton has praised all the boys in S1 and S2 who were on the minibus for their response to the emergency situation.
She has written to the parents of the boys involved to compliment the boys for “their remarkable bravery and composure when faced with the critical situation arising from Mr Aitchison's sudden collapse at the wheel”.
She wrote: You doubtless will have relived the events with your son and will be aware of the amazingly quick thinking of John Clark and Andrew Kellock who managed to bring the minibus to a stop by pulling on the handbrake. There is no doubt their actions averted a more serious accident. I said to the boys today that as a team that day they showed many of the attributes we are trying to foster in our young people to help them be effective contributors, responsible citizens and confident individuals.
“Those who stopped to help were full of praise for the conduct of the boys. We are proud to have pupils of such calibre in Millburn Academy.”
Mr Phillips, a senior countryside ranger based in Broadford, Skye, said: “Much praise is due to the children, who reacted very responsibly in very difficult circumstances and to the first aider who dealt directly with the driver. His parting words, that all of the children had behaved heroically was just what they needed to hear at that point.”
Mr Aitchison is a long serving teacher at the school, who is currently teaching biology. An accomplished former rugby player and keen all round sportsman who had taught PE, he had taken the boys to play rugby against Plockton High School.