‘Support School Swimming’ Campaign Launched As British Aquatics Organisations Join Forces
The Support School Swimming campaign is being launched to raise awareness and ensure that every child leaves school able to enjoy the water safely.
Aquatics GB, Swim England, Scottish Swimming and Swim Wales are joining forces to highlight this issue and rally support from families, aquatic fans and the Government.
The campaign is being launched alongside an event in Bethnal Green in East London, less than three miles from the Aquatics Centre which staged the 2012 Olympics and will host the Aquatics GB Swimming Championships from 15-20 April.
Hundreds of schoolchildren from the local community were set to take part in a school swimming water safety assembly, to build their confidence with the water and help them further embrace school swimming lessons.
Despite swimming being a National Curriculum requirement, only 50 per cent of children from the poorest families in England are leaving primary school able to swim 25m.
Only 35 per cent of children in Wales from years 3-6 can swim that distance – a record all-time low for Wales. Meanwhile, a sportscotland review in 2024 found the cost of community swimming lessons had risen by 53 per cent over the previous five years.
Ninety per cent of children in years 1 and 2 – those aged 5-7 – said they either liked or loved swimming while 74 per cent of children wanted to swim more.
The chief executives from Aquatics GB, Swim England, Scottish Swimming and Swim Wales said: “When fans are cheering our Olympic and Paralympic champions on to their incredible performances in the pool, they are watching one step in a journey that began with these athletes learning how to swim as children.
“Those vital water safety skills and a love for being in the water are the most important elements of our sport. For many children, school swimming lessons may be the only opportunity they have to gain those skills and develop that passion.
“Across Aquatics GB and our Home Nations partners, we want to shout about the huge value of school swimming and ensure that more is done to improve the chance for every child in the country to benefit. We acknowledge the pressures on schools, so we are keen to work with schools to help improve that picture.”
The ongoing National Curriculum review in England presents an opportunity to put school swimming and water safety at the heart of the PE syllabus, giving it greater priority within schools and raising its importance for school children across the country. In Scotland, meanwhile, there is an ongoing push to lobby Government for additional funding for school swimming.
All of this comes with less than a month to go until the likes of Duncan Scott, Maisie Summers-Newton, James Guy and Alice Tai – all gold medallists at last year’s Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games – compete at the Aquatics Centre.
Four-time Paralympic champion Summers-Newton, who has qualified as a teacher alongside training as an elite athlete, said: “Giving children the opportunity to swim throughout their time in school is so important. Not only is swimming one of the only sports that can save your life, it gives the children so many different skills, whether that be physically or socially, that will stay with them forever.
“Seeing first-hand the different children that come into school and the lack of swimming experience that some have, it’s shocking to me as an athlete to see how many children can’t swim 25m by the time they leave Year 6. Hopefully with more promotion and support, schools can provide children with those lessons they need to become confident in the water, while also being able to enjoy it and love the sport like so many of us do.”