This year, Mt Albert Aquatic Centre has delivered over 10,000 school swim lessons to children in need |

July 11, 2024

Mt Albert Aquatic Centre has reached the milestone of delivering over 10,000 school swim lessons to children in the local community who either attend low decile schools, have a disability or who are home schooled.

The funded and non-funded school swimming lessons aim to support those children in the community who don’t always have the opportunity to participate in swimming lessons, ensuring they are given the chance to learn how to be safe in and around the water.

Spearheaded by Mt Albert’s Swim School Coordinator Anya Lockie, students participate in experiential and activity-based learning and are adapted to meet any specific needs of the children.

Lockie is encouraged by the positive feedback from the students, schools and parents and is keen on ramping up the program.

“I just love the smiles on the kids faces while they participate; they absolutely love it, and more than that, these lessons are potentially saving lives.

“A lot of these kids are limited by financial constraints, as well as religious or immigration reasons, so to be able to give them the gift of vital water safety skills is an honour and a privilege”.

Sonia Davies, Associate Principal at Mt Albert Primary School was delighted in the progress made by their students.

“Instructors were certainly of a high calibre and they communicated warmly and effectively with students with all levels of swimming abilities. The students felt comfortable and were excited about attending the swimming lessons, and we observed clear progress of all students, especially those who had a fear of the water.”

In 2024, Mt Albert Aquatic Centre has delivered swimming lessons to 1,304 children equating to 10,176 lessons.

The program has also been extended to support Mt Albert Grammar School with their English for Speakers of Other Languages students. Funded by the Belgravia Foundation, these students – who are often new immigrants from Africa, China, India and Afghanistan – are learning the basics of water safety and water confidence, and over 200 lessons have already been delivered to 40 students.

Schools or non-profit groups are invited to get in touch with Mt Albert Aquatic Centre to discuss how they can design a swim program to suit the needs of their students.