This year’s Royal Highland Show was a lively mix of farming, food, and family fun — and our first aid stand became one of the most heart-warming attractions. Over three sun-soaked days, we welcomed over 1000 individuals: children, parents, grandparents, curious teenagers — at the Tree-ditions bushcraft area at the Royal Highland Show, Edinburgh.
First Aid Training Co-operative trainers Cory Jones and Dave Crosbie engaged the visitors who were all eager to learn life-saving skills like CPR and AED use.
Hands-on learning for all ages
Families stepped up to practice chest compressions on training manikins, guided by our enthusiastic instructors. We encouraged caregivers and youngsters alike to give it a go — and were delighted to see how quickly they picked it up! Even toddlers joined in by squeezing play “animal” manikins, earning delighted cheers and stickers for their efforts.
Demystifying the AED
One of the most eye-catching features was the interactive AED demo. Attendees could open a training AED, place the pads on a dummy, and hear the device say phrases like “Analysing heart rhythm” and “Shock advised.” The friendly voice and realistic beep-beep-beep sounds reassured both kids and adults that these machines are simple to use — even in emergencies.
Making it fun – and having an impact
Breathing checks, compressions, rescue breaths and AED. The result? Big smiles all around, and children proudly showing off their achievements.
Parents shared how empowering the experience felt. One mum mentioned her newfound confidence: “If anything happens at home or on the farm, I know what to do.” Another father was already planning a family practice session later — because hands-on repetition cements learning.
What we learned
The real lesson? You don’t have to be a professional to help save lives. With guided practice and a bit of encouragement, almost anyone can learn and feel confident delivering CPR and using an AED. We watched families bonding over shared learning, and even older attendees surprised themselves with how well they performed.
A huge thank you
To the Royal Highland Show organisers and everyone who visited our stand — thank you! Seeing so many people take these skills to heart, having fun while learning and leaving more confident means the world to us. We hope every family took home both a memory and the knowledge that they could make a difference in an emergency.
Get confident – get first aid trained!
Knowing what to do BEFORE it happens is essential and attending a first aid course will give you the knowledge, skills and the confidence to deal with many first aid incidents. Our courses are structured to give you confidence in dealing with an incident as well as the competence to do good quality and appropriate first aid. Find out more about our range of First Aid courses here.
Everyone on our courses receives a FREE digital first aid manual. We have a range of manuals relevant to the courses we teach – Outdoor, First Aid at Work, Paediatric, Equestrian and Sports. They are a great resource that you can download onto your phone or other device and have all that first aid knowledge at your fingertips. You can view them and buy them for less than £5 here.
