Town Junior swimming pool: Excited pupils at a junior school will be making a real splash this summer, thanks to a ‘pop-up’ pool that has been set up so they can improve their swimming skills.
Town Junior School in Sutton Coldfield, which is part of the Broadleaf Partnership Trust, opened the 25-metre pool on Monday, June 5th, and youngsters can now look forward to four weeks of swimming fun throughout the summer.
The heated pool took two days to fill with water and is staffed by a qualified swimming teacher and lifeguard, to ensure the pupils are safe at all times.
PE Lead Annabelle Long explained that the school decided to hire the pool to ensure that youngsters didn’t miss out on learning to swim because of the pandemic.
She said: “There are a lot of children, particularly in Years Six and Five, who didn’t have the opportunity to go swimming in Year Three because of COVID.
“So, we’ve got more non swimmers in those years than we would usually expect to have, which is why we have brought in the pool and prioritised them.
“Learning to swim is so important from a water safety point of view, and we really want our older children to be confident in the water when they leave to move up to secondary school.
“For those Year Six pupils who can already swim, we have created a life-saving skills class – which they’re all very excited about that.
“The children are just loving it; they are so happy – I think it’s probably going to be something that they remember for the rest of their lives!”
Town Junior swimming pool funded by Government grant
The temporary pool is being funded from Town Junior’s annual Sports Premium funding, an annual grant that schools use to make additional and sustainable improvements to the quality of the PE, sport and physical activity they provide.
Rooms at the Ebrook Road school have been converted into changing areas for the summer, and the pool is in constant use throughout the day, with boys and girls being taught separately. New swimming costumes have also been provided for those children who forget to bring theirs in.
Head Teacher Adrienne Smith said: “There is so much excitement around the school because of the pool, and it is wonderful to see the children so enthused about physical activity.
“They are learning very important life skills, while having fun and making memories.”
Broadleaf Partnership Trust Chief Executive Officer Claire Pritchard said: “This is an innovative use of Sports Premium funding which will help undo some of the negative impact of the pandemic, while giving the Town Junior pupils a summer to remember.”