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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if your child’s secondary school has a pool?

204 replies

Mickmick123 · 30/06/2023 10:37

My local private school has an indoor swimming pool. Other than that no local secondaries do. One nearby used to but it was shut down due to heating being unaffordable. Recently, I was visiting my sister who lives miles away and her DS15 is currently doing a swimming unit in PE as his (state) school has a pool. I would assume most primary’s would be too small to have one. Aibu to ask if 1) your child’s school has a pool and 2) do you think your dc benefit from their school having one

OP posts:
RequiresUpdating · 30/06/2023 10:52

Our primary doesn't but they go to the primary one village over twice a year. The secondary doesn't either but they use the town outdoor pool. All children who live in the town have free entry, but all those from the surrounding villages (like us) have to pay entry.

Badbudgeter · 30/06/2023 10:53

I would say where I live schools are often community campuses so the school doubles up as local leisure centre. Stuff like gym / pool/ squash courts/ sports halls all available to public at certain times. Also house local library and part time government officials registrar and housing office.

It’s cheaper to heat/ maintain a new, modern, efficient building than lots of old ones.

CoralBells · 30/06/2023 10:53

Yes their state primary and secondary did/do. They were/are set based on ability.

Wincher · 30/06/2023 10:54

No, I think the only school round here that has one is the local private school. But we live near to, and both our primary and secondary are also close to, the local leisure centre and all the schools use that. I don’t think they go at secondary though.

my state primary had a pool but like a PP said, it was used for lessons by all the other local schools so it was kind of a shared resource.

Namechangedagain20 · 30/06/2023 10:54

1 state school near me has a pool (a catholic school) lots of the local primaries use it for swimming lessons. All the secondaries nearby use council swimming pools to hold swimming lessons in year 7&8. My DDs primary school hire a swimming pool in a big tent to hold swimming lessons for ks2 kids for a week every year.

Esmereldapawpatrol · 30/06/2023 10:55

Our Secondary school is next to the towns Sports Centre so they have access to the pool there and use it for lessons and galas etc but it isn't actually part of the school, just very handily next door.

WhiteFire · 30/06/2023 10:56

One local school sort of does, it is in a different county but it is the public pool for the town but is heavily used by the school.

We did put it down as second choice for my eldest, but we got our first choice.

glossypeach · 30/06/2023 10:57

my local secondary school doesn’t have its own but it backs up onto the local sports centre, so it shares facilities with them. So it shares gym, sports hall, swimming pool, Astros, etc

Georgeandzippyzoo · 30/06/2023 10:57

I know of 2 mainstream primary schools in our LA that have pools. They hire them out for other primaries to use, and j think someone runs lessons from them after school. They are More like a large training pool where you would learn to swim rather than a large pool which might hold Galas.
Don't know of any secondary schools with pools.

SabrinaThwaite · 30/06/2023 10:58

Growing up my comp had an outdoor pool, primary used the big indoor town centre pool.

Eldest DC’s state school in Scotland had an indoor pool - most of the high schools had a pool, as well as the a couple of the private schools.

Youngest DC’s state school in England doesn’t have a pool.

Both DC swam competitively.

x2boys · 30/06/2023 11:00

Yes but it's a special.school.its a hydropool.and he loves ,it
It annoys me a bit that they hire it out for swimming lessons
I wish they would instead hire it out so the families and children who.actually attend the school.could use it more.

TheNoodlesIncident · 30/06/2023 11:01

In our area the only state schools to have pools are a grammar school and some (one of?) the special schools, plus some of the private/independent ones.

The grammar school one is used a lot by swimming clubs and swim schools in the evenings and school parties during the day. My ds has swum (that looks weird) in one of the special school's as part of an enrichment policy for SEND pupils at his school.

We've used a half term holiday club which included swimming and trampolining as the activities on offer, which was based in one of the local independent schools.

It's a shame there aren't more as standard, but the maintenance and costs for heating etc must be really high.

CherryLipgloss · 30/06/2023 11:01

In my local town there are 5 state secondary schools and none of them has a pool. One did until a few years ago, but the maintenance was expensive and it took up a lot of space so they filled it in.

Wicksytricksy · 30/06/2023 11:03

No none of the primaries or secondaries do. They all use the local council pool. One of the private schools used to have one but it closed in the pandemic and never reopened.

Dontknowwhattopick · 30/06/2023 11:06

Two local state schools in my area have pools, the one my ds went to is within the school building but not owned by the school. They do use it a lot and ds had swimming lessons on a regular rotation for pe, also learnt basic canoeing in the pool and water polo. There is one local primary with a pool but it is a smaller one used mainly for beginner swimming lessons

ChimChimeny · 30/06/2023 11:19

Our junior school has one, it's only about a metre deep but has been used for school lessons plus baby swimming lessons and other swimming schools.

yogasaurus · 30/06/2023 11:22

DC’s private school has one. My state school up north also had one.

Badbadbunny · 30/06/2023 11:22

Yes, out of 7 secondaries (Small city and town next door to it), 5 have a pool, there are only 2 that don't. Those 2 both have buses running for games lessons to another school to use their pool.

Not sure how much use they get though. My DS went to one of them with a pool and I think he only did swimming in games lessons for 1 term out of the entire 7 years he was there. It wasn't even an option in most of the years he was there and he said it was barely used except for the school's swimming club.

AnnPerkins · 30/06/2023 11:23

Our lower school has a pool but it took up so much of the PTA's fundraising efforts that they stopped using it a couple of years ago. It was a lovely thing for DS and his cohort but it was too small to be of any use teaching them to actually swim.
The middle school and upper school have good sports facilities but no pool.

Zanatdy · 30/06/2023 11:24

Ours didn’t but two local do have a pool

OrangesAndLemming · 30/06/2023 11:25

Our local state does but it doubles as a leisure centre/gym at weekends and evenings to fund it.

littleripper · 30/06/2023 11:26

It used to but it was filled in during the credit crunch due to heating costs.

fruitpastille · 30/06/2023 11:29

Our secondary has a pool but I don't think it makes PE any better. It's the local pool for the town as it's used after school and weekends and in holidays for lessons and some public swimming (like a leisure centre pool).

manontroppo · 30/06/2023 11:29

Our primary has an outdoor pool - used for summer term swimming lessons and also you can use it during the weekends if you sign up to the swimming club (school families only). A couple of decades ago there were a spate of drownings in the Fens and Cambridgeshire County Council went through a phase of putting pools in primary schools, so a lot of them have them around here.

Our village colleges (secondaries) all tend to have swimming pools which are also community pools. Well used and cheap.

Maray1967 · 30/06/2023 11:30

Yes, ours has a pool (Liverpool). Commercial companies do swimming lessons after school.