swimming lessons

[Kiwirose]

Hi, My children are 7 and just coming to the end of swimming lessons with Seals Swimming (who I would thoroughly recommend) in Linton and they need to progress to a pool that is both longer and deeper. This one is about 12 m long and 1.2m deep.

Just wondering where people take their children and what they think of the teaching and the price. Would you recommend your lessons?

thank you for your help

My kids had lessons at the Leys, but to be honest, I thought the teaching there was very poor. The kids made minimal progress. Teachers barely gave any feedback and one teacher spent a lot of time not actually looking at the kids at all. I moved kids to Elite swimming, which is great but mind-shatteringly expensive.

Chesterton Sports centre is fine and not too expensive. Both my kids learned there and are competent swimmers. It comes more naturally to some children than others, so speed of progress through the levels depends on the child, but they learn and seem to enjoy it.

Elite Swimming Academy is excellent and runs lessons at various pools in the Cambridge area. ESA have a maximum of 3 children per class (DD currently has only two in hers) and professional teachers; consequently progress is fast. However, as pp said, not cheap- currently £18(!) per 30 min lesson.

What are the lessons like at Parkside Pool?

Elite sound good but not sure if we can afford that much - might have to work on hubby. I would also be keen to hear about Parkside or Abbey if anyone has experience of them. Thank you all for you help so far. I do appreciate it.

My ds had lessons at Parkside. He enjoyed them but struggled to hear - before we moved he had lessons in a school pool with far less noise. He didn't make much progress so I moved him to Elite. I would give Parkside a try - the time / age of children may make a big difference to the volume.

Lots of people seem to go to Parkside and seem pleased with them - also Abbey but less so but its a bit luck of draw. If they are finishing Seals I wonder if just taking them along to the pool a few times would work though?

We were with Elite but found it expensive and the quality of teaching variable, my children now go to Parkside - mainly because it is reasonably priced and convienient. I think some of the teachers are better than others but they have had some good ones there.

We used Chesterton and were quite happy with the lessons there, but not ideal if you are coming from south of cambridge.

Hi Kiwi Rose, I have 3 swimming girls 11,9 and 7. I am North of Cambridge. I tried Parkside years ago: advantages loads of slots on offer, disadvantage (if driving and parking) having to use Queen Anne car park and paying for parking. Chesterton wouldn't even let me go on waiting list!!! Ended up at King's Hedges learner pool. It is basic, but clean and lessons cheap to all families as in sure start area. When children needed deep water I went to Abbey. Parking free and easy. All of above are ASA swimming classes, was Everyone Active run, now "Better". We have had excellent teachers without paying through the nose. These days with Better (and probably others) you can log in and see your child's swim record which is good.

Hey Tic-tac,

thanks. have to say that free parkin is a good draw in Cambridge. I have never been to the Abby so I guess I should check it out. this sounds like a good option.

Just seen that The Leys have lessons on a Sunday which is a good time for us. Anyone tried them?

Kiwi x

Hello all,
I'm from Elite, I'm one of the coaches and can safely say, all our teachers are passionate about teaching and coaching. We are all from a competitive swimming back ground and so consequently have experience of both teaching the FUNdamentals (ASA method) and the more serious competitive side of swimming.
Our prices are based on class sizes limited to three, This guarantees progression for your child, and crucially it gives us the flexibility to teach your child to their specific needs. We often take dispraxic and Autistic children specifically because we are so flexible in this way. Something that not all schools can offer just because of the class sizes.
We are running some open days this year and next so you can get a taste of what we offer and who we are. Please keep an eye out via our facebook page www.facebook.com/eliteswimmingacademy/
If you have any queries or questions please don't hesitate to contact us. Our website is www.eliteswimmingacademy.co.uk/
Thanks for reading.
Liam

Just wanted to add my support for Elite.
Liam from Elite, who just posted above, taught my son with ADHD (undiagnosed at the time) to swim in 5 x 1:1 sessions. He was 9.5, all his friends could swim but he just couldn't work it out. It was really getting him down. We live abroad, so not the same access to swimming lessons as in the UK.
He now swims competitively.
The lessons are expensive, yes, but in my opinion completely worth it.

I'm not linked to Elite, by the way. I just felt really happy when I saw Liam's name. Learning to swim has been one of the most important things for my son. It has really meant so much.
He now has a new set of friends at the swimming club that only know him as a swimmer who does his best, rather than the ADHD kid under the desk at school.
The swimming training has helped him learn how to focus, which together with medication has had a dramatic influence on his school work.
Rambling on...but thanks, Liam.

Another strong vote for Elite. Unfortunately we're having to try the Leys as with two kids we just couldn't afford it any more, but they have been amazing! If the Leys is as bad as neolar suggests we might have to eat beans and toast more often and go back to Elite :)

We had a really really bad experience with Abbey. The lifeguards sometimes used to sit and read instead of watching the 50-odd children in the pool!!! My DD also had a series of temporary teachers (at one point a different one every week!), one of whom decided that splashing water into extremely water-nervous DDs face was the best way of getting her used to the water, then told me that 'it was the only way she was going to learn' . Admittedly this was a few years ago now, but I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole.

We also left Abbey after getting a teacher who had no oompf to engage DD after a day at school, whispered (not good in that noisy environment with so many other lessons going on) and just didn't seem to engage with the individuals in her class. It was a shame because DD did stages 1 and 2 there but partway through stage 3 I realised we were both miserable once a week. It does have the parking so I sometimes wonder about trying again and hoping for a different teacher but DH would like her to try elsewhere (he's not the one who would have to ferry her into town at rush-hour...).

I am going to look at Elite but it's a bit costly for us, I guess you get what you pay for. Does anyone know of similar swim schools for an 8 yr old?

Have found Nuffield off Coldhams Lane, anyone heard of them?

Hi there
I'm looking for children's swimming lessons in Cambridge?

Hi fifi... we have used Parkside and elite. We had a really bad experience with elite. Spent a LOT of money, but the instructor did some pretty strange things and put ds off swimming for a bit. (Also know a few other parents who have found the elite instructors harsh and not v child centred). We are now back to Parkside. The staff at Parkside are largely fantastic (with a couple of exceptions), my dc's really enjoy their lessons, and lessons are very affordable. The standard is also high at Parkside.

Swimming Nature start Swimming lessons this September at the Quy Mill Hotel and spa, they look like a good company and they do 1-2-1 and 2-1 tuition so not bogs groups! www.swimmingnature.com Hope this helps.

Yes I looked at parkside but then came across Swimming Nature.. They previously had the ESA at Quy Mill but they decided to go to Swimming Nature. I called up the hotel for more details and they sound like they pride themselves on fully focusing on your child with no distractions of lots of others children. I'm going to sign up for the new term. Thanks for your help

PROS

• Well maintained, clean pools in a range of places – in and around Cambridge

-Good instructors (the same instructors may teach in other places as well) -For absolute beginners starting from the scratch

CONS

• If your child has already had training elsewhere, choosing the right level and joining the right group is an issue especially for crash courses. If your child is in advanced stage within a certain ESA level and you plan to move on to the next level, you may still be considered as a beginner at that level. If you end up booking two weeks of crash courses like we did, the instructors may not know (even the second week) until your child start on the day. The management needs to communicate with the instructors -ahead- of the classes
• There is no way to communicate with the instructors before the course, especially if an assessment was needed. The management’s assessment about the child’s ability/stage may be inadequate even if the parents tell them everything – a minor communication gap exists between the management-instructors-parents. The pamphlet claims faster progression GUARANTEED however the communication gap may not ensure it.
• ESA do not accept Kiddi vouchers or other childcare vouchers. Perhaps, they are premium and do not consider accepting them and even leave the classes/pools unreserved for the entire term rather than joining these programmes
• ESA charges are typically 3x more expensive. We chose them to kickstart swimming lessons after COVID reopening. Considering their allocation of the child at the incorrect level or inadequate pre-assessment, booking a pool with parent-guided swimming may be more suitable in certain cases

Currently, we use another pool that charges less than £10. 1-2-1 lessons costs ~£30. Elite charged ~£22 per 30min lesson for three kids per teacher. That is about ~10min per kid. If you calculate the average time spent per child, then a 1-2-1 lesson for £30 is cheaper than £22 for three kids in session.

Hello, I have been a swim teacher a long time in Cambridge, so I thought I would add my two cents to this conversation.

By far the most important thing in finding good value swimming lessons, where the kids actually progress is recommending and seeking specific teachers, not swim schemes.

The quality of teaching almost always varies considerably within the same swim scheme, since the managers rarely care about the quality of teaching.

At the swim school where I work, there are teachers who can teach children to swim in a fun way on their own, within a few weeks. Yet there are other teachers who have zero interest in teaching at all, where the children do not progress for years.

Please try and steer this conversation towards recommending teachers, rather than swim schools.

For example, rather than saying:

"ESA was amazing for me, I would totally recommend them"

It is much more useful to say:

"John from ESA was amazing for me, he taught my child to overcome his fear of the water and swim 15 metres on his own on his front and back within the first 5 lessons."

ESA does on average have slightly better swim teachers than everywhere else, but it still varies considerably.

Furthermore, never listen to statements from companies saying how good their teachers are, and remember it is easy for companies to leave fake reviews on websites like this.

Sorry to bump up an old thread like this, but it was the first result from google about swim schools in Cambridge, and the information I just provided is absolutely vital to any conversation about swim lessons.