Secondary Top Up Swimming Programme - News - Plymouth SSP

Secondary Top Up Swimming Programme

Over 150 Secondary students who could not swim have taken part in 2 week intensive lessons across 5 secondary schools (Notre Dame, Sir John Hunt, Tamarside, Stoke Damerel, Eggbuckland). The program which paid for the students to be picked up everyday for 2 weeks and given intensive ½ lessons resulted in a staggering 75% success rate. Which means that the students (many of whom could not swim at all and were afraid of getting in the pool can now swim at least 25m unaided. The success of the program is testament to the power of partnership working. A number of funding streams from the sports development unit, Amateur Swimming Association and the Sir John Hunt School Sport Coordinators were used to fund the project. This would not have been enough however without the combined support of the Secondary schools in releasing their students from their lessons and providing staff to accompany them to the pool. I would like to thank the outstanding instructors at Pavilions and the students from City College Plymouth who used their new ASA Level 1 instructors qualifications to add extra support for the secondary school pupils.

To celebrate the students success Great British and Plymouth Leander Swimmers  Emma Wilkins and Antony James were present to distribute students Swimming awards and sign their certificates.

It is hoped these students will continue to use their new skills with the cities recently introduced program of free swimming for U16s.

While this program is a massive success we are hoping that the Cities new Aquatics strategy and the building of the new pool at the life centre will mean we do not experience such a high number of non swimmers coming into to our secondary schools.

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