Hillarys Boat Harbour: Greenwood College schoolgirl taken to hospital after near-drowning on school trip

A schoolgirl was resuscitated in front of staff and students after she became distressed during a scheduled swimming activity at Hillarys Boat Harbour this week. It is understood the Greenwood College student was swimming at Hillarys Boat Harbour as part of a scheduled school outing on Monday morning when she got into trouble. After she was pulled to shore, multiple attempts were made by people in the area to resuscitate the girl. St John WA were called to the beach about 10.30am before she was rushed to Joondalup health campus in an ambulance. She was later transferred to Perth Children’s Hospital on Monday afternoon in a life-threatening condition. The West Australian has confirmed the girl is now recovering. Education department deputy director general of schools Steve Watson said he was aware of the near-drowning. “The Department is aware that a student required medical assistance during a supervised swimming activity inside Hillarys Boat Harbour,” he said. “I commend the school staff who were directly observing the student for acting immediately to provide assistance. “Ongoing support has been made available to the student, all other students at the school impacted, and for the staff involved.” The age of the girl or what class she was in has not been confirmed. Greenwood College, in Greenwood, is a public school which caters for Year 7 to 12 students. The school — which also has its own swimming pool — offers a specialist 12 month program for students with non-English speaking backgrounds to transition into Australian high schools. Students are offered swimming lessons as part of the program. Greenwood College resumed the school year on February 5.