Can I please ask about swimming lessons? Posting for traffic

[CoffeeFirstPlease]

There is two leisure centres nearby me same company but different prices I'm looking for lessons for my three daughters.

One is closer (average 8min 1.9miles away drive traffic dependent) £37.50 a lesson £112.50 a month

Second one (average is 15min drive 5.3miles away again more if there's traffic) £26.87 a lesson so would be £80.12 a month

The more expensive one said to me they are pricier as they are better, have smaller classes and the quality is better and the other one said the price is different because of the part of the Borough it comes under. The first one I wouldn't be able to get them all in on the same day at least to begin with whereas the cheaper one I cam do all same day same time eldest is 9 so she can sort herself out while I sort out the twins who are 6. I just don't know what to do do I go to the closer one for convenience and because they said its better or the one that's a drive away because its cheaper. It says it would cost me £1.50 round trip in petrol for the second one so still works out cheaper but I'm worried its not as good

Forgot to add they both have upfront costs and admin fee is non negotiable

Choice one would be £337 for the three of them paying for April and May upfront and £25 admin fee each child

Choice two would be £240 for all three admin for is £20 each child

I am drawn to the cheaper one because its cheaper but I never learnt how to swim and I've always wanted my kids to learn

What’s the actual difference in class sizes and have your dds done any kind of swimming lessons before? I pay £50ish for my two dc to have swimming lessons and the class size for the younger one is too big but getting them into a lesson at all around here is a miracle so I just quietly seethe every week.

Cheaper one sounds fine to me and that’s a significant saving if you don’t mind the longer journey. I would maybe ask them how many kids they have in a group. What does larger/ smaller mean in practice? Especially for your 6yos, it will be difficult to learn if the group is very large. So maybe rethink if that’s the case? Otherwise I’d book the cheaper one.

Choice 2 is ~15 minutes longer each trip, all at the same time and saves you £30 per session (across all 3)

No brainier.

Seems expensive. Mine go to a pool 1 mins walk away, it costs £5 a week.

I would choose the second as all children can start together.We pay £30 a month for 1 child the other has 1 to 1 for £20 a week.Small groups are better but depends whois teaching.Most state schools have swimming lessons usually year 5/6 so children really benefit from private lessons prior to give them a head start.

I would go for the 2nd one. The fact you can get them all in at once makes big difference, theres nothing worse than going back and forward on difference days, while your other children hang about and wait. Gosh those prices are expensive compared to our local leisure centre though.

They both seem really expensive! We pay £27.50 per month, 6-8 kids in a group depending on age although often some don't turn up each week so it's usually about 5.

Goodness we pay £25 a month for a lesson a week and unlimited lessons inbetween.
Usually 3-4 kids on average per lesson but can be up to 6. Two teachers per lesson.
Council run sessions.

How much!!!

Crikey.

I’d do the cheaper one where they can all do at the same time.

PS. You should learn as well.

You are more likely to persist and so are the kids, the easier it is for you to get there. My prejudice is to choose the centre based on convenience to get there. Problem is that even if you start the kids all on same day, they are likely to improve so move up classes & then they end up on different days after all.

They will improve faster in smaller classes (usually) so they will need lessons for a shorter period of your life.

Ideally you should also take them for 'fun swims' -- sometimes pools give free fun swimming to kids enrolled at lessons at same centre. This is terrific idea to help them improve faster. Again, closer centre is preferable to make fun swims easier for you.

I'm leaning towards closer & pricier, basically.

ps: agree those prices are crazy!!

That is expensive, we pay less than 30 per month for weekly lessons. Smaller classes have the advantage that they might get through the stages quicker but the price and the fact they can all do lessons on same day makes second option a no brainer in my opinion

That seems a lot, unless 1-2-1. I pay £38 per month for DD (9) to do half hour lesson perk week and £42 per month for DD (12) to do rookies which is 1 hour per week

My goodness sorry I meant to say its £37.50 a month and £26.87 a month 🤦🏽‍♀️ I'm so sorry

That's extortion. Local pools were £35 per month for an hour per week for the later stages.

The cheaper one said the classes have a max of 6 in younger classes and max of 8 in stage two which I'm pretty sure the expensive one said the same numbers I'm wondering if they said that to just get me to sign up there instead.

Are the classes smaller? Is there any difference with the pool? The one local to us is cheaper but it's a variable hight pool (so takes longer to learn as can put toes on the floor) and the classes are larger. If there's no difference, go with the cheaper classes. Swimming bankrupts!

I’d go for the cheaper one and get them all going together. Swimming nights are such a faff I only want to do it once a week!

Does either of them give free fun swimming to the kids enrolled at lessons there -- and would you take them for fun swims?

That seems more reasonable! I pay £14.50 per lesson for a 45 min lesson and they are more expensive than the leisure centre but are in a different league with regards to the teaching and the progress made. They have a massive waiting list so we are not the only ones who think so! I'd go for the closer one personally and change if not happy.

I think it's more down to the individual swimming teachers than size of the class! My children have all responded very differently to lessons because of the teacher. Not the other children. Besides. A certain amount of learning from your peers takes place in swimming too. Kids want to be able to do what others can.

I’d choose the one where they can all go at the same time - that’s priceless! The difference in drive time would be negligible to me once you’re in the car and driving anyway.

You can always review after a term and if you don’t like it switch to the more expensive one.

*not there being less children. It might help if there's a handful in a class, more kids to copy.

I think there advantages to only tying up one evening for an activity rather than twice a week and having to entertain one while other/s swim or juggling another pick up.