A program to teach small school students in the central west of regional New South Wales to swim is reaping rewards, with three students participating in a recent district carnival.
Teacher Penny Healey, who works at two small schools near Lithgow, has taken students from Hampton and Cullen Bullen schools to the local pool for swim classes for the past five years.
Earlier this year, Hampton and Cullen Bullen were joined by students from Megalong Public at Lithgow’s JM Robson Aquatic Centre for their own small schools carnival, the first for these schools in over a decade.
“We had about 30 kids from the three schools at the carnival,” Mrs Healey says.
“Ninety per cent of them swam the 25 metres races and from there we had three students, two from Hampton and one from Cullen Bullen, go on to compete at the district carnival.”
“I think it’s a great example of how public education has helped make an activity more accessible for these students, giving them a life skill and a chance to progress on to a higher level if they choose.’
Learn to swim programs save lives
Mrs Healey says it was the culmination of a program to teach students from the small regional schools to swim.
“Most of these kids had never learned to swim outside of school, so we started doing lessons with them,” she says.
“We take them to Lithgow pool and do a couple of days of intensive swimming with them twice a year. It’s remarkable how quickly they pick it up.”
Mrs Healey says the three students who swam at the recent district carnival had all progressed through the learn to swim program.
“They’ve all done the classes pretty much through primary school,” she says.
“At district, they competed in the 50m freestyle and backstroke events, and even managed to achieve a couple of PBs (personal bests).
“I think it’s a great example of how public education has helped make an activity more accessible for these students, giving them a life skill and a chance to progress onto a higher level if they choose.”
