Six pupils from Claires Court School in Maidenhead, Berkshire have been praised for saving a man’s life while on a school canoeing trip, the BBC has reported.

The Year 9 pupils were on a Duke of Edinburgh expedition near Wallingford¸ Oxfordshire on 30 June when they heard a call for help from a capsized canoeist.

Two of the pupils helped the man by keeping his head above the water, while the others alerted nearby support staff.

In a statement, the school praised the boys for their “courage and quick thinking” and described them as “local heroes”.

The school explained the canoeist had drifted “perilously beneath a raised jetty”.

James Wragg, the school’s head of outdoor education, said the boys “immediately rushed to his [the canoeist’s] aid” and radioed teaching staff nearby.

The school said two boys first on the scene “demonstrated incredible composure under pressure” helping the man cling to the jetty. They fashioned a makeshift stirrup, allowing him to keep his head above water. Teaching staff supervising the trip were then able to pull the man from the water and assess his condition.

The rescued man had been stranded in the water for 25 minutes, with his foot was trapped under his boat.

Wragg added: “Luckily, our boys arrived just in time and no doubt saved his life.”