Brave teen attacked after saving friend from shark’s jaws returns to school next day

A brave teenager was attacked by a shark after fending the predator off from biting his friend - and still went to school the next day.

Jack Shaw, 15, battled the shark at Ocean Grove beach in Victoria, Australia last night.

He and a pal Tiarna, also 15, went swimming at the beach at around 7pm local time when they came across what they thought was a reef shark or bronze whaler.

They were swimming neck-deep water when the beast attacked.

Jack said he tried smacking it to get it away.

Jack told 9News.com.au : "I turned around, it got me on the back and then I said, 'swim!' and tried as fast as we could to get back to shore."

Jack Shaw tells reporters about how he fought off a shark when it attacked him and his friend (Nine News)

He suffered a centimetre-deep wound and bite marks on his back.

Tiarna got a cut on her hand a wound on her calf.

He said: "She looked at it and it was a shark. So I did my best to get it off there, so I was smacking at it, trying to get it off."

Jack said all he would think about was getting the shark off and getting out of the water.

Jack suffered a bite mark on his back (Nine News)

Off-duty lifeguards ran to help when the pair got to the sure.

However, a family who was at the beach were the first ones to notice what was happening in the water.

Mum Dianne Hobbs, who is a trauma nurse, used towels to stop Tiarna's leg from bleeding.

She had surgery on Tuesday afternoon and remains in hospital.

Jack went to school the day after the attack.

The two teens were attacked while swimming at Ocean Grove beach in Victoria, Australia (Alamy Stock Photo)

He said his friends did not believe him until he showed the bite marks on his back.

Pieter Wildekamp from the Victorian Fisheries Authority has said shark attacks in Victoria are not common.

He said: "We haven't had a significant shark attack in over 40 years."

The beach was temporarily closed as authorities looked for the shark but it has now reopened.

Reef sharks are common in parts of Australia and grow to an average of about six feet.

They typically swim in shallow water and feed on octopus, squid and bony fish.

A bronze whaler shark is also common in Australia and they tend to swim in a variety of different depths from the continental shelf to harbours.

They can grow to be about 11 feet in length and typically eat octopus, squid and fish.