Chippenham head alert over deadly playground challenge (From This Is Wiltshire)

Chippenham head alert over deadly playground challenge

7:00am Friday 24th July 2009

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Staff at Chippenham’s Hardenhuish School have warned students not to take part in a potentially deadly playground craze that sees them deliberately passing out.

Teachers are concerned children are encouraging each other to try the “pass out game”, in which they make themselves hyperventilate before being hit on the chest until they faint, after watching it on the internet.

Deputy headteacher Jan Hatherell said: “It is not so much that we were worried about what happens in the playground, but the world outside school.

“We got wind of the fact that some of our young people had seen this on the internet and thought about trying it out on themselves.

“Children are not always aware that these sorts of things can be dangerous – especially with it being called a game.”

Headteacher Colin Smith arranged special assemblies last week to discourage children from taking part in this activity, which cuts off the oxygen supply to the brain and can potentially kill.

“He told them we had heard about it and made them aware that it is not a game,” said Mrs Hatherell.

“It is the holidays that we were most concerned about.

“The children will be out and about having a good time in nice weather we hope, and they might not be as well supervised as in the playground.

“They have got five or six weeks of holidays and if this is something that has become prevalent we hope that the children are aware that this is not a game, and the each parent is aware of the possible consequences.

“It is the fact that it is called a game that I do not like – it makes it sound like it is something fun and it really is not.”

Letters were also sent to parents to warn them that their children might think about trying it with friends.

Mrs Hatherell said: “With the summer holidays coming up we were very keen that parents should know that this was out there, and that they were able to talk to their children about it to make them aware of the possible serious outcome.

“Having been made aware of this we thought it was our social responsibility to inform them.

“I can confirm that as yet we do not know of anyone locally being injured from this, but our concern remains that they might be.”

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