AIBU Would you pay £20 for a 30 minute kids swimming lesson?

[MonsteraMother]

Keen to book swimming lessons for DS and DD - stage 1 and stage 4.

Lessons are in a local school pool with 4 children in a class.
£20 for 30 minute lesson...13 lessons this term so being asked to pay £260 per child, so £520 upfront for the term in total.

I have to supply youngest child with their own pool noodle and kick board - no shared equipment due to covid. Showers out of use due to covid...slightly run down facilities but good pool.

YABU - that cost is fine
YANBU - it's extortionate

Private health club down the road charges £12 for a group lesson with 5 kids in a class. Sadly, they don't have availability on the days I can do.

My god I pay £22 a month for my DS's swimming lessons. That is ridiculous.

I paid that for 121 lessons for Dd for 18 months. Started as a non swimmer. Got 800 metres on her last lesson. This as between 7.5 to just turned 9.
Older 2 DDs did feckin years of group lessons at the local pool.

That seems a lot. I pay about £43 a month for a weekly 60 minute lesson.

No way. That's more or less 1:1 prices for our leisure centre.

We pay around £25 a month for 1:4 at the moment because of covid. Plus the lessons run through the school holidays as well, you often get lessons with 1:1 or 1:2 as children are away/ in holiday club.

DS (9) still can't bloody swim though.

For that money you could spend a day at a water park and get some serious practice in which, IME, makes more difference to beginners than lessons anyway.

Yes, older child did private 1:1 lessons then switched to Leisure Centre lessons but instructors are a bit hit and miss so progress was inconsistent. Been with a private company in the same pool recently. Older child is a strong swimmer for their age now but would benefit from lessons for a while yet.

Older child swims at the school venue regularly at a cost of £9 per lesson with a different private company. We are having to change days which means we have to switch to a different swim company who hires the pool on the days I can do.
I went ahead with the enquiry and was a bit horrified as I hadn't specifically asked the price until the invoice arrived.
Foolish me for assuming the cost would be around the same. I'd be happy to pay £10 - £12 a lesson for a small group or £20/£25 for 1:1 lessons for the younger one.
Useful to know that general MN consensus is that it's over priced.

Feel like such an awful mother for depriving younger child from swimming lessons when older child had the opportunity. Everywhere here is fully booked for beginners 😭😭😭.

£20 a month here for half hour weekly lesson. Groups up to 10. Noodles etc all provided.

That’s what I paid for 1:1 lessons two years ago.

I pay £6.50 per 30 minute lesson in a group of 6 kids which is about the norm round here

Used to pay just over £20 a month for a 30 minute lesson most weeks. No more than 10 to a class. That was the council run pool.

I was paying £17 for half an hour 1:1 lessons
I now pay £8.50 for a half hour group lesson.

Not for a group lesson, even if it’s a small group. I’d expect one to one for that.

That would get you 1:1 around here!

I pay £22 for a 30 min 1:1 lesson which I think is reasonable, but not for a group lesson.

I pay £30 a month (SE Leisure Centre), I think 5/6 kids in a lesson (beginner level). She doesn't get much time being instructed as the instructor is no longer allowed in the water with them.

I'd probably pay £20 for 1:1 for half an hour. They make so much more progress 1:1.

I am paying £26.75 for 1-1 lessons, 30 minutes a week.

I'd expect 1:1 for that price. I pay £25 an hour (discounted if you book in blocks of 5 or 10 sessions) for personal training although that's on top of gym membership. My gym doesn't specify what swimming lessons are but i'm sure it's similar as PT and less for small group lessons. Our changing rooms and showers are open for swimmers (once they reopen).
The local "council" doesn't specify group size but is £22 a month for children's lessons.

Do you have another town close by that may have a pool and lessons? Is it a leisure centre set up or private company at a school pool?

I think it's a bit bit much for a group of 4, they won't do that much swimming in half an hour.

The waiting list here are so big, especially after covid, that clubs charge whatever they want.

I'd rather pay more and see my kids make progress, so I'd be happy to pay if the lessons are good. Hard to know in advance!

Not checking prices before booking is mad! Easy mistake in a way, but that would hurt. I expect that they have so many enquiries, they should find someone else if you change your mind?

YANBU. That is a reasonable rate for a private 1:1 lesson not a group lesson, they are making £160 per hour!!

I would put your children on a waiting list for somewhere cheaper.

I charge that for individual violin lessons, and would like to think I'm probably a little more qualified than the average swimming teacher. Sure, I don't have the expense of the pool, but ...

Yeah £25 a month here - East Midlands. 8 in a class for 30mins OR 12/14 in class for an hour but that's stage 9/10 so very confident swimmers with half the 25m pool!

Think we paid around £20 a half hour for some :1 private lessons ! Few years back!

Nope.Mine are in secondary now, but when they were young/primary school, we paid £5 or £5.50 for a 30 minute lesson. They all became strong swimmers, too, so it doesn't have to cost a fortune.

We pay £15 1:2 lessons.

Once he can swim we'll do the £25 per month leisure centre ones though.

Get on a wait list for cheaper lessons. And look for half term 'crash courses' that usually run 5 straight days at leisure centres. Those are great swimming jump starters, too.