Swimming

Swimming

What is it? 

Swimming is the practice of moving oneself through water in various manners - it is one of the public's most popular recreational sports, and is often included in compulsory education in schools, particularly for Primary age students.

What does it involve?

The basics of swimming involve learning the various established styles of stroke used to move through the water, coordinating all the body parts to work together for the most efficient movement. Once an individual is confident in the water there are a number of sporting activities that involve swimming, and many people find it relaxing to swim in their spare time. 

Why do it and what are the benefits?

The physical benefits of swimming are well documented - it exercises the majority of the body and can help with posture and stress levels as well as being a lot of fun. Swimming is also fairly instinctual for humans, so it's easy to pick up once you've mastered the basics, and is a great life skill. 

What equipment do we need?

Swimwear is a must for every participant, as well as towels and toiletries for showering and drying off after the event. Hats are often compulsory in pools while conditions such as veruccas can render a student unable to participate.

Who is it suitable for?

Students of any age can go swimming, but be aware of the varying levels of skill you are likely to find in a group - not everyone will necessarily have the same experience, and will therefore need different teaching.

Costs?

Costs of entry to swimming pools and booking lessons will vary between establishments. General admission is normally under £5 for a reasonable size pool, but make sure to check out the varying prices in your area to get the best deal for a group!

Issues/Things to think about?

Beginner swimmers (especially young children) should never be left unsupervised while swimming as you can quickly lose control in the water when inexperienced. Pools should have trained lifeguards on duty at all times in case of emergency.

How do we include?

Physically disabled individuals can swim reasonably easily assisted by various buoyancy aids, and other types of disabilties are also often catered for - swimming is a reasonably good activity to include everybody in if you choose a venue with the right set up for the needs of your group. 

Doing it abroad?

Swimming is popular all over the world, and its extremely unlikely you will find a destination without a place to swim nearby. Countries with warmer climates also tend to have pools as part of accommodation, so if you are visiting such a place you may not have to go far to access a swimming pool at all. It is well worth ensuring you are happy with safety equipment supporting your activity, plus checking the amount of supervision and level of expertise of the staff on duty. Knowing emergency procedures and where life-saving equipment is located is also a very good idea and can save vital seconds in the case of an emergency.

Main website:

Visit the Amateur Swimming Association - http://www.swimming.org for some great general information and to find out more about the School Swimming Charter - but always consult a venue's individual website for the venue or provider's specifications.

Venues with this Activity

A spectacular stretch of coastline boasting dramatic cliffs

A great beach, and more: some of the best rock pools in the country, good surfing, masses of wildlife and views of the distinctive island - the Great Mewstone. Wembury is a great starting point for lovely inland and coastal walks to Wembury Woods and the Yealm Estuary, and around Wembury Point. Finish your trip with a slice of Gemma and Jennifer's home-made cake in the Old Mill Café.

Nestling in beautiful, tranquil French countryside on the borders of Normandy and the Loire, the Château sits on the crest of a hill surrounded by 10 acres of grounds – a perfect location for a school trip to France.

Competition size pool with serious diving pit and teaching pool. Diving may be restricted to the public at times best to check ahead.

Two discrete centres within 26 acres of private woodland, surrounded by 200 acres of public woodland, overlooking the seaside town of Sheringham.

Hilltop primarily offers comprehensive outdoor educational opportunities to Primary and Middle schools and Sixth Form / Further Education Colleges.

We are a premium team sports development tour company. Our aim is to deliver unique sports travel programmes including school and youth teams sports tours to enrich young peoples' experiences and leave life-long memories. We offer young players of all standards the opportunity to train and play in the world's top professional clubs.

Coral Reef Waterworld is one of the most popular visitor attractions in the South East and next year will undergo a fantastic £11m+ facelift.

When you come back to us after the year long transformation you’ll enjoy five exciting new flumes, including two iconic thrill rides: the Crazy Cones and the Super Crater, which will be exclusive to the South East of the UK.

Wickedly Wonderful is a summer camp in the UK for children, it regularly receives top reviews in the national press, The Sunday Times and Daily Telegraph.

We offer residential summer camps during the summer and Easter holidays and skiing trips during the February half term holiday for children aged 6 to 13 years. 

Winning Tours is one of the leading worldwide sports tour operators in the UK. Our friendly and knowledgeable team specialise in tailor-making netball, hockey, football, cricket, rugby, rowing, tennis, swimming, dance and theatre, lawn bowls, educational, scouts and UK Inbound tours for schools.

Study Experiences offers a wide range of great value educational tours, which include curriculum-led multimedia seminars and interactive workshops, all supported by Study Experiences’ education guides.

Truly bespoke educational travel.

Every school trip we operate is designed to match your curriculum and meet your learning objectives – once we have taken the time to understand your requirements we will work together to build a trip that best suits your group's objectives and budget.

Multi-activity/sports day camp during all school holidays; for ages 3-13; North London; registered under The Children Act and Ofsted inspected.

Close supervision specialists in swimming, squash, tennis; with qualified teachers/lifeguards and instructors; directors have been operating camps for over 30 years, with a safety record second to none.

Edwin Doran Sports Tours are the market leaders in sports travel with over 40 years experience operating quality sports tours throughout the world. Renowned for our experience, expertise and extra touches, it is no surprise that we have taken more teams on tour than any other sports tour operator; +11, 000 at the last count.

Gullivers Sports Travel's Sports Tours and Festivals department is a leading specialist in the provider of playing tours for school children from primary and prep school age up to leavers and beyond.  

321ski and 321dive uniquely offer school ski and dive trips that are ‘Designed by Teachers’. Founded by former teachers intent on raising the quality and integrity of school trips, 321 delivers the standard of school trip that our teacher colleagues would be delighted with. 

With a wealth of specialist experience, our friendly team has been helping school groups to enjoy sports, ski, educational and special interest trips since 1992 under our former STI School Travel, Sports Travel and STI Skiwise brands.

The magnificent site of St Helen's is the fantastic setting for one of our newer camps.

Explore the World!

Xplore is a dynamic, motivated and growing company run by people with valuable industry knowledge and expertise. For nearly 30 years we have been providing top class, tailor made packages for groups of young people.

MasterClass Sports Tours are the market leaders in school sports coaching and tournament tours. In addition to our range of European coaching and tournament courses, we also offer tailor-made sports tours to a wide range of other destinations worldwide, including South Africa and the Caribbean. 

Voyager School Travel is the Educational Tours arm of a group of very successful school tours companies. Schools choose Voyager because of our People, who without exception have years of experience in school travel. That experience brings with it a wealth of product knowledge and expertise, as well as a deep understanding of what party leaders require.

Set in Melton Mowbray Leicestershire, Waterfield Leisure Centre offers the local community a place to engage in the latest fitness activities with their experienced range of Fitness Motivators and Personal Trainers.

Whinfell Forest is nestled in stunning landscape on the edge of the Lake District. Lodges for families and groups of all sizes are set in the 400-acre woodland, with lakes and streams aplenty that are befitting of the picturesque Lake District scenery.

Indoor or outdoor pools depending on weather, diving facilities, Wet 'n' Wild sessions and more besides.

A 25 metre pool offering a variety of swim sessions, swimming club and swimming lessons, fitness suite and sauna.

Enderby Leisure and Golf Centre in Leicestershire is proud to offer a fantastic range of sports and activities for everyone to enjoy.

Offering Enderby’s only golf course, Enderby Leisure and Golf Centre is also home to a gym, group exercise studios, a crèche, two swimming pools, a sports hall, squash courts, indoor bowls hall, café, beauty salon and meeting rooms.

Set in Horfield, Bristol, Horfield Leisure Centre offers a gym, group exercise studio, group cycling studio, two swimming pools, a sports hall, crèche, squash courts and café.

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British schoolgirl assaulted on school trip to Iceland

hotel corridor

A viral video shows a black girl being assaulted by a white woman in a corridor.

Police in Iceland are investigating after a British schoolgirl was slapped and chased by a tour guide in a hotel corridor.

The schoolgirl, 13, who attended Harris Girls’ Academy, was assaulted whilst on a school trip to Iceland to see the Northern Lights. The incident occurred at Hotel Örk, Hveragerdi on 13th October.