EVERY secondary school in Gwent can now be fitted with a heart defibrillator thanks to an Argus-led appeal that has raised more than £32,500 in just over a year.

It comes as part of a campaign to get the machine into every secondary school in Gwent and the Rhymney Valley in memory of Oakdale teenager Jack Thomas who died suddenly three years ago.

In January last year, the South Wales Argus teamed up with June and Grant Thomas to launch Jack’s Appeal, a campaign to get the defibrillators, which cost around £1,000 each, into every secondary and special school in Gwent and the Rhymney Valley.

Jack, who stood at a towering 6ft 3in, had no previous health issues and was competing towards the Taekwondo European Championships at the time of his death.

He was 15-years old-when he died suddenly at his girlfriend’s house in Newbridge in February 2012.

His parents are yet to find out what exactly caused his death, but believe it to be associated with a possible arrhythmia.

“I feel really proud and I know Jack would be proud of me too,” his mother said. “It’s a massive achievement.

“People have been reading and taking an interest and the message is getting out there. I know companies who have had heart defibrillators installed in their factories after hearing about Jack’s Appeal.”

Mrs Thomas - along with her family and friends - has worked tirelessly to organise various fundraisers, and has secured several outstanding donations, including £10,000 from the Aneurin Bevan Health Board.

But before Jack’s sudden death more than three years ago, Mrs Thomas said she had not particularly fundraised for anything.

“I was a full-time mother, running around and taking my boys to taekwondo, football and rugby,” she said.

It means all 42 secondary schools in Gwent can now be given a defibrillator with the money raised.

Out of 16 secondary schools in Caerphilly county borough and the Rhymney Valley, 12 were funded through Jack’s Appeal.

In Newport, six out of the nine schools will be beneficiaries, while in Torfaen it will be four out of seven, and four out of five in Blaenau Gwent. In Monmouthshire, all five schools will have been given a defibrillator through Jack’s Appeal.

All remaining secondary and special schools either had their own defibrillator prior to the appeal’s launch, or are using the device of their nearby leisure centre.

At least four schools in Torfaen will be presented with a defibrillator each later this month, while the remaining few will be given theirs in the coming weeks.

The appeal itself has had several milestones along the way.

More than 100 pupils, teachers and relatives of Jack had their hearts screened at Oakdale Comprehensive School on June 6 last year to mark what would have been his 18th birthday.

A teenager at the school discovered she had a hole in her heart following the screenings.

A few months after Jack's death, his parents set up a memorial fund in his memory through the charity CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young), which has also raised tens of thousands of pounds, and has been responsible for the heart screenings.

And despite her latest landmark, Mrs Thomas does not intend to stop there, and neither does the Argus in supporting her.

She added: “I want to do a petition to get the [heart] screenings compulsory in schools. It’s a no-brainer.

“This isn’t stopping here. [Jack’s Appeal] will go on and I want to go over to the next county now and do the same there.”

Since its launch, Jack’s Appeal has sparked another campaign to get a legislation to make the potentially life-saving machines available in every public place in Wales.

Newport nurse Phil Hill, who is leading the petition, spoke alongside Mrs Thomas at the Senedd in Cardiff last year to discuss the probability of introducing Jack’s Law.

Shortly after the third anniversary of Jack’s death in February, the petitions committee at the Senedd received a report on mandatory public access defibrillator legislation for Wales.

Mr Hill said it was with the view of then holding a discussion in the Senedd’s main debating chamber and he now wants constituents across Gwent, and across the country, to ensure their local Assembly Members get behind the campaign.

Welsh Hearts are the official charity of Jack’s Appeal, and have been responsible for supplying the schools with the device.

Later this month at Lliswerry High School in Newport, 800 people are expected to benefit from CPR training through Welsh Hearts – thought to be the biggest single training session of its kind in Wales.

Your money will not go to waste. Jack’s Appeal is continuing in its aim to deliver heart defibrillators to every secondary school across Wales having already reached its initial target in Gwent.

If you want to donate, or want to know more about Jack’s Law, visit welshhearts.org/jacksappeal or rememberingjack.co.uk.

Otherwise, people can donate money by sending cheques payable to Welsh Hearts, to Temple Court, 13a Cathedral Road, Cardiff, CF11 9HA. Put reference “Jack Thomas defibs appeal” on the back of the envelope.