Knowing how to perform CPR is one of the most valuable things anyone can learn. In a sudden cardiac arrest, the chances of survival drop by around 10% for every minute that passes without it. Bystander action in those first minutes is often the difference that saves a life.
We are a peer support charity for cardiac arrest survivors and co-survivors. We do not provide CPR training or fund courses — but we know, from the hundreds of people in our community, exactly why it matters. Many of our members are alive because a bystander acted. This page points you to the best places to learn.
Start Here: Free Online CPR Training
British Heart Foundation — RevivR
The BHF’s RevivR is our top recommendation for most people. It is a free, 15-minute online CPR training tool you can complete at home on any device — no course booking, no cost, no mannequin required. It teaches hands-only CPR using your phone or a cushion to practise compressions. The BHF also runs face-to-face Nation of Lifesavers events and school programmes for those who want a classroom experience.
CPR Training Organisations
Resuscitation Council UK
Resuscitation Council UK (RCUK) is the clinical authority on resuscitation in the UK — the organisation that sets the national guidelines all training providers follow. Their public resources include clear step-by-step CPR guidance, hands-only CPR information, and resources for healthcare professionals. If you want to understand the evidence behind the techniques, this is the definitive source.
St John Ambulance
St John Ambulance is one of the UK’s largest first aid training organisations, offering hands-on CPR and first aid courses nationwide — from short community sessions to full Emergency First Aid at Work qualifications. Online and blended learning options are available.
British Red Cross
The British Red Cross offers first aid training for individuals, families, communities, and workplaces across the UK, including CPR as part of wider first aid qualifications. Their free online first aid resources are also a useful reference.
Restart a Heart Day
Every October, hundreds of thousands of people across the UK learn CPR as part of the Restart a Heart campaign. Led by Resuscitation Council UK alongside the British Heart Foundation, British Red Cross, St John Ambulance, and all UK ambulance services, it is the single largest annual CPR awareness event in the country. October is also Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month — a timely moment to get trained or encourage others to do so.
CPR in Schools
Since 2020, teaching CPR has been part of the Health Education curriculum for secondary school students in England. Students aged 12 and above are taught life-saving skills including how to perform CPR and when to use a defibrillator. Provision varies across Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Resuscitation Council UK has detailed information on CPR in schools.
Community-Led CPR Training
Alongside the national organisations, there is a growing movement of people with lived experience of cardiac arrest who are putting CPR training and defibrillators into their communities — motivated by the very event that brought them or a loved one into the SCA UK world. We want to recognise that here, because it matters.
Do It For Defib
Do It For Defib was founded following a family’s experience of sudden cardiac arrest. As well as campaigning for community defibrillators and maintaining a regional AED map, they provide training events to help people know how to use them. Grassroots, personal, and driven by the kind of determination the survivor community recognises. You can also find their AED map in our defibrillator maps section.
Heart to Heart Norfolk
Heart to Heart Norfolk provides community CPR and defibrillator training to schools, sports clubs, businesses, and community groups across Norfolk. Run by people who care deeply about keeping their local communities safe — find them on Facebook by searching Heart to Heart Norfolk.
Should Survivors Learn CPR?
Many survivors ask this. The answer is almost always yes — though if you have an ICD or other cardiac device, it is worth a brief conversation with your cardiologist first. Knowing CPR does not put you at greater physical risk than any other moderately active person. For many survivors, learning it is also a way of processing what happened — channelling the experience into something purposeful.
If you are a co-survivor — a partner, family member, or bystander who was there when someone collapsed — learning CPR properly can be part of your own recovery. Our Resuscitation Attempt support page is written for people who performed CPR and are carrying the emotional weight of that experience.
CPR and Defibrillators Work Together
CPR keeps oxygenated blood circulating. A defibrillator restores the heart’s rhythm. Neither replaces the other — used together, they form the core of the bystander response that gives a cardiac arrest victim the best possible chance of survival.
To understand how CPR and defibrillation fit into the full emergency response, see our page on The Chain of Survival. To find your nearest public defibrillator, visit our AED and Defibrillator Maps page.
See also: AED and Defibrillator Maps, Defibrillators, The Chain of Survival, and What Is Cardiac Arrest?