News & events
Supporting the serving Royal Navy community to access free swimming lessons in Plymouth
By Jacob Tyson
31 January, 2025
Swim Free is delighted to announce a new partnership with Plymouth Active Leisure, to provide over 120 places for children and young people from serving Naval families with free swimming lessons at their Plymouth Life Centre this year.
Funded by Greenwich Hospital and delivered through the not-for-profit Andrew Simpson Foundation, Swim Free provides free swimming lessons for children and young people from serving Royal Navy, Royal Marines, and Royal Fleet Auxiliary families.
The Plymouth Life Centre is a premier fitness and swimming facility and one of the country’s leading sporting venues, offering a variety of pools for young people to learn to swim. This new partnership with Swim Free will see the Plymouth Life Centre provide Adult and Baby classes, through to lessons at Stage 4 of the Swim England Learn to Swim Pathway, for young people from serving Naval families.
Learning to swim is an essential life skill for young people that supports and helps them maintain positive mental health, grows their confidence, increases their resilience and willingness to try new things – all whist keeping active.
“Our goal is to help more children and young people from the serving Royal Navy community learn to swim and experience the health and safety benefits of water-based sports. We’re delighted to welcome this new partnership with the Plymouth Life Centre.”
Dr Maria Theofanous, Research and Education Grants Manager at Greenwich Hospital.
Swim Free swimming lesson follow the Swim England or Scottish Swimming Learn to Swim Pathway, with each participant receiving a total of 12 lessons.
“Being Britain’s Ocean City, giving everyone the opportunity to be safe around the water and have the chance to learn to swim are key aims for Plymouth Active Leisure. Therefore, we are delighted to be able to collaborate with the Andrew Simpson Foundation and launch the Swim Free programme in Plymouth to reach further into our communities to engage with Royal Navy, Royal Marines, and Royal Fleet Auxiliary families. This is such an amazing opportunity and one that we will look to embed, develop and connect with as many people as we can to ensure the programme can have an immediate and long-lasting impact”
Rhys Jones, Chief Operating Officer for Plymouth Active Leisure.
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