A young boy has been flown by helicopter to the Royal Children's Hospital after being pulled from a pool during school swimming lessons.
The child, believed to be six years old, is in a serious but stable condition after he was dragged from the water in Victoria's east.
Paramedics were called to the Swifts Creek School pool on the Great Alpine Road about 1pm.
The child was with his classmates having swimming lessons during the first week of the school year when the incident happened.
It is understood the class was from a nearby primary school, which uses the pool at Swifts Creek School.
Teachers, parents and bush nurses treated the boy before paramedics arrived.
"We had a combination of people there working together to help. Everyone pulled together," Swifts Creek principal Robert Boucher said.
The boy was then treated by paramedics at the scene before being flown in an ambulance helicopter to hospital.
Mr Boucher said the boy was with his mother in the helicopter, which landed on the school oval.
He said students watched as the emergency unfolded.
"One of the great things about our kids is their level of maturity and the reality is that we needed a level of care for that boy," he said. "We couldn't hide the fact there was a helicopter on the oval."
Staff would counsel the children about what happened, Mr Boucher said.