Pools 4 Schools Splash in Ashington
Rebecca Adlington supporting Pools 4 Schools
The British Gas Pools 4 Schools initiative has come to Ashington, which will provide a unique opportunity for a thousand children to learn to swim in a revolutionary, temporary swimming pool which will be in place until Friday 24th July 2009.
The 12m x 6m temporary teaching pool has been built at Ashington High School Sports College for the use of its cluster of local first and middle schools, all of whom will be able to access it free of charge. This is the tenth pool installation in the national British Gas Pools 4 Schools initiative, which has already achieved significant results in London, Birmingham and Manchester, amongst others.
This initiative was conceived and developed by Total Swimming, the company led by Olympic bronze medallist, Steve Parry and is endorsed by the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA). Steve said “The focus of the programme is to support young people in achieving the National Curriculum target of swimming 25m and to gain an understanding of water safety.
“Northumberland is a key target area for this project, based mainly on the aquatic deprivation of the area’s population. It will ensure that children are given an opportunity that they might otherwise not have had.
He adds: “The results in Aston, Birmingham, were excellent. Less than 20% of children in some schools had previously met their targets. However, after half a term of lessons, 84% in one year group achieved them.
Community Access
Open all week, the pool will not only be accessible for local schools but will also provide organised early morning swim and evening sessions for the community which include a range of exciting new activities including aqua aerobics for teenage girls and Mini Polo sessions which have been organised as part of Northumberland Sport’s Sport Unlimited programme. Other activities open to the community include Rookie Lifesaving sessions, Women’s swim and chat periods and general public swimming.
Elizabeth Armstrong, Partnership Development Manager for the Ashington School Sport Partnership (SSP) who have organised and manage the pool sessions said “The arrival of the pool in Ashington has created a real buzz! This is an excellent facility for use by our local schools and the wider community. The young people who are swimming in curriculum time are loving being in the water, making fantastic progress and coming back in the evenings with their families. We are thrilled with the whole project and hope it will encourage young people to continue to be more active long after the pool has gone.”
The scheme is backed by the Department for ChildrenSchools and Families (DCSF) and aims to ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn to swim and achieve the government’s 25m learn to swim targets. Ashington High School Sports College is just one of a number of schools that will receive a temporary water space in the 2008/2009 academic year.
For more information or to find out about session availability, please contact Ashington SSP on 01670 844935.
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