Objectives: CPR training is a recommended part of the UK National Curriculum. 11-13 year olds have the cognitive and physical ability to perform CPR, are not committed to GCSE course work and represent a wide cross-section of the community. However, a standard 2-hour CPR course can be difficult to organise due to pressure on class time, large class size, and cost/time of CPR instructors and manikins. In addition, teaching methods must be designed to promote enjoyable and effective learning.The authors believe that an interactive CD-ROM could provide a valuable teaching aid contributing to a cost-effective and stimulating CPR training package.Methods: The authors have developed a CD-ROM teaching the theoretical background to cardiopulmonary arrest, the ABC of resuscitation and the diagnosis/treatment of other life-threatening emergencies.To assess the efficacy of the program 120 children will receive CPR instruction. Sixty will receive a standard 2-hour CPR course and the remainder will be issued with the CD-ROM followed by practical tuition.Retention of skills and pupils' enthusiasm for the two teaching methods will be assessed at intervals up to one year.Results: The preliminary results will be announced at Resuscitation 96. The CD-ROM will be available for trial at this time.Conclusions: The authors hope to show that the use of a computer program is a viable and cost-effective means of assisting the teaching of CPR to schoolchildren. In addition, we hope to show that skills are retained as well as, or maybe better than, following traditional training.The authors are grateful to Ambu International (UK) for supporting this project.