Olympic gold medalist Becky Adlington has begun offering free swimming lessons through her Swim! school this summer, saying she was prompted to act after seeing a BBC report on the number of children leaving primary school unable to swim 25 metres. She is now calling on local councils to work with her to expand access to swimming for young people across the country.
Adlington told BBC Radio WM that pool closures had been a long-running problem rather than a recent one, though she acknowledged the situation involves multiple overlapping issues that make it hard to fix.
Lets join forces, we want to work with councils.
I think a lot of people want to blame Covid and the fact that the pools were closed, but actually the statistics have been bad before then because unfortunately swimming pools are closing across the UK and they have done for the past 10 years.
How bad is the school swimming problem?
BBC research using Department for Education data found that 72% of Year 6 pupils on average could swim 25 metres by the end of primary school in the 2024-25 academic year, but that figure fell to just 55% in schools with a higher share of disadvantaged pupils. Adlington has separately described the disparity as "devastating," pointing to further findings that nearly three in ten children in Greater Manchester left primary school unable to swim 25 metres, with the same proportion unable to tread water for 30 seconds or perform a self-rescue, according to earlier coverage of her comments.
Additional BBC reporting found that children receiving free school meals performed worse on several water-safety measures, including self-rescue and treading water, while London recorded the weakest regional results in England, with just 63% of Year 6 pupils able to swim 25 metres against the national average of 72%, according to a BBC report on London swimming results. Free swim-safety sessions have also been funded for young people in the capital over the summer as part of the response. Separate reporting on Norfolk schools found particularly low attainment at some individual schools, with one recording a pass rate of just 10% and another 11%, according to a BBC report on Norfolk swimming figures.
What is driving pool closures?
Adlington said she recognised that councils are financially stretched, but stressed that the underlying causes go beyond funding alone.
How can we expect children to do school swimming or pay for private lessons if there aren't swimming pools?
She said affordability, transport and school budgets were all contributing factors, alongside the diminishing number of available pools. Swim England's 2021 "Decade of Decline" report warned that almost 2,000 swimming pools could disappear across the UK by 2030. More recent figures suggest England has already seen a net loss of 581 pools between 2010 and 2026, underlining how the squeeze on facilities has continued in the years since that warning, per a report from i News. Earlier BBC reporting had also found that one in six local authorities lost at least one pool between 2019 and 2022, showing the closures predate the current public debate.
The wider concern over water safety has also fed into a broader national response. Rebecca Adlington's push echoes calls from the City of Southampton Swimming Club for expanded school swimming and water safety lessons amid rising costs and closures, and comes after England launched a national strategy to reduce drowning deaths following a rise in water-related fatalities.
Why is Adlington offering the lessons now?
Adlington said the scale of the problem made action necessary, and that her school is providing over 5,000 free lessons until September 2026 to help families build a skill she described as potentially life-saving.
When we hear that nearly three in ten children are leaving primary school unable to swim 25 metres, and that the figures are even worse in some communities, it's clear that more needs to be done. That's why we're making more than 5,000 lessons available for free until September, helping families access a skill that could save a life.
She said the response to the offer had been "just amazing" and that her aim is not to produce elite swimmers but to build basic water confidence among children.
What happens next?
No further decisions, funding announcements or scheduled meetings between Adlington and councils have yet been reported. The free lessons through her Swim! school remain available to families until September 2026, and the wider debate over pool closures and swimming attainment appears set to continue without a confirmed timeline for policy change.
Key Facts
- Becky Adlington is offering more than 5,000 free swimming lessons through her Swim! school until September 2026.
- BBC data shows 72% of Year 6 pupils in England could swim 25 metres in 2024-25, dropping to 55% in schools with more disadvantaged pupils.
- London recorded the lowest regional swimming attainment in England, at 63% of Year 6 pupils able to swim 25 metres.
- Swim England warned in 2021 that up to 2,000 pools could close by 2030; England has already lost a net 581 pools since 2010.
- Adlington is calling for councils to collaborate with her on improving access to swimming for children.
