Nottingham Swim School Archives

Nottingham Swim School, part of Nottingham City Council, is urging parents to make sure their children know how to stay safe and enjoy the water this summer.

Whether heading abroad this summer or opting for a staycation, the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK), fears that families will head to beaches and inland water locations this summer, without considering the potential dangers, putting themselves and others at risk. Those of us who will be venturing abroad for their summer holiday, may find themselves using non-lifeguarded pools and therefore be at risk if they do not have the necessary water safety skills.

Figures indicate that around 25 per cent of primary pupils leave school unable to swim, and experts fear that as a result of the pandemic many young people lack the ability to swim or self-rescue.

Nottingham Swim School is supporting RLSS UK’s national Drowning Prevention Week campaign, this year running from 15-22 June 2024.

Drowning Prevention Week aims to equip everybody across the UK and Ireland with the skills and knowledge, to make the right decisions about water safety.

Over 300 people accidentally drown in the UK and Ireland every year and many more suffer injury, sometimes life-changing, when they survive drowning.

Nottingham Swim School Officer, Claire Sullivan said: “We are proud to play our part in ensuring our families have a safe summer. We recognise how vital it is for children to know how to stay safe near water and urge our parents to access RLSS UK’s free water safety resources on the Charity’s website, which includes fantastic theme week lesson plans to allow schools to incorporate the resources into our existing lessons. We want our pupils to enjoy all the fun and benefits of being in and around water but be educated on how to do that safely.”

The Royal Life Saving Society UK’s Charity Director Lee Heard, said: “The UK’s beautiful waterways should be places where everyone feels at ease, and can take pleasure from their surroundings, whatever their age, whatever their activity level. But we’re urging people to educate themselves and others on how to enjoy water safely and prevent a fun day out ending in tragedy.

“The Drowning Prevention Week campaign is crucial this year. In recent years, young people have missed out on the vital opportunity to swim, leaving a dramatic gap in school swimming and water safety education.

“RLSS UK believes that through free, accessible education and training, everyone can enjoy water safely. We urge as many parents as possible to get involved with the campaign, use our free online resources, and give their children the skills to enjoy a lifetime of fun in the water.”

Visit www.rlss.org.uk/DPW to access the Charity’s free water safety resources.

In addition, the Open Water Education Network (OWEN) will be visiting two Active Nottingham Leisure Centres during Drowning Prevention Week to promote water safety:

OWEN – In memory of Owen Jenkins – was founded to educate children and young adults in Nottinghamshire about how to stay safe around open water and what to do in an emergency, whilst also working closely with water safety groups such as Fire & Rescue Service, Police Service and the Nottinghamshire Water Safety Partnership group. “Had my son Owen and his friends been educated about open water, its dangers and what to do in an emergency he may still be here today” – Nicola Jenkins.

Can this brown gal swim? The final day!

It’s the final day of Summaya’s challenge and the Brown Gal Can’t Swim podcast and if you’ve stuck with us this far, you’ll have heard Summaya talking about why she is learning to swim at 27, changing rooms within swimming facilities, modesty and swimwear, plus why you should learn to swim given the apparent dangers with water.

Spoiler Alert!

Now, if you’ve not listened to the final day of the podcast series, then below are some spoilers!

Let’s rewind to a cold, wet and windy day in Nottingham and a team of supporters (plus some open water swimmers) headed to Spring Lakes to watch Summaya take on her final task – a 500m open water swim.

Summaya is putting on a brave face as she mentally prepares for the swim and kindly snaps some images with our team and is interviewed by the BBC. She’s compiled a Brown Gal Can’t Swim playlist for everyone to listen to as she counts down the time before she gets into the cold lake.

As it approaches 4 pm, she is feeling nervous. The weather is gloomy, she is anxious about the swans and ducks, and a mix of emotions is overwhelming her. However, her swim coaches (Nottingham Swim School teacher Victoria Charles and Her Spirit’s Mel Berry) are present, along with Olympian Alice Dearing, offering words of calm, encouragement, and advice as she gets ready to swim. As she pops back into the changing room for a pep talk with her brother, she decides she needs a moment alone, saying: “(I’m) feeling really nervous. I’ve got butterflies, but I’m feeling ready – let’s do this”.

Right before she gets in the water, she listens to Ella Henderson’s Ghost to help calm her.

The time is now 4:15 pm and Summaya begins her swim, taking it in her stride, like a duck to water! She swims the first 200m using a variety of strokes and is looking strong, but then stops and it looks as though she might be struggling. But after a few words of encouragement and advice from the boat (with one of her coaches, Mel Berry, who is following), she powers on.

All the while Summaya is in the water, there are groups of swimmers also in the lake. They join her for the last push – providing an open water swim supporter group! Everyone is on the bank cheering and shouting to Summaya for the home stretch and the sound is deafening!

At 4:39 pm, 24 minutes after she started the swim Summaya has done it! Summaya has swum 500m in open water after only learning how to swim 8 weeks ago – what an amazing achievement.

As she leaves the water, she tells the crowd (who have now gathered) “That felt like a lot. It was really, really hard. Eight weeks ago I literally couldn’t swim and today I’ve managed to do 500m in open water. If I can do it, and I could not swim at all, then anyone can do it! No matter how embarrassed you might feel about not having a (swimming) skill, it could save your life. With the right support and the right people around you, you can make it happen”.

Can this Brown Gal Swim? She sure can and she did an incredible job! Listen to the Brown Gal Can’t Swim series in full.

Get Out Get Active Nottingham has been honoured to work alongside Active Nottingham in supporting Summaya Mughal’s Brown Gal Can’t Swim campaign. The values of the project of supporting more people to be more active and overcoming the barriers faced to being active perfectly align with the campaign’s ambitions to address the lack of South Asian and other ethnic minority swimmers in our pools across the country.

Swimming is a great activity for everyone, regardless of age or ability. It offers numerous benefits for both our physical and mental health, including those with disabilities and long-term health conditions. However, for many who have never learnt to swim, or who have anxieties about accessing a pool, it can feel really overwhelming and can prevent people not only from accessing swimming pools but also from gaining the vital life skill of swimming and being safe in the water.

Through the GOGA project, we have implemented various swimming initiatives. One example is our Swim for Health program at the six Active Nottingham pools. This program offers public swimming in a calm environment with floatation aids and supportive equipment like gradual steps.

Yet, we understand that the main challenge is often overcoming mental and emotional barriers. That’s why we find inspiration in Summaya and her Brown Gal Can’t Swim campaign. Their efforts to eliminate the stigma around learning to swim and accessing support for swimming are commendable. We are proud to have partnered with them and Active Nottingham in this important endeavour.

If you’ve been inspired to take up swimming, get in touch with Nottingham Swim School today and see how we can help you on your own swim journey.

Brown Gal Can’t Swim: City Council helps BBC presenter to get South Asian women swimming

Summaya Mughal (left) and Alice Dearing (right). Image: Charlie Firth

Nottingham-born BBC presenter Summaya Mughal has been learning to swim at Active Nottingham pools in a bid to encourage other South Asian women to take the plunge.

Active Nottingham, part of Nottingham City Council, has supported her during her journey which she starts sharing on air this week. Her five-part series looks into learning to swim at the age of 27 and explores why many South Asian women are less likely to swim.

In revealing that she couldn’t swim, Summaya exposed the cultural barriers that she faced and how it has affected her both physically and mentally. As part of this journey, Summaya has given other members of the South Asian community the confidence to take their first steps into swimming.

As a result of her campaign, Summaya was honoured at the Nottingham Awards 2022 last week for her work in the Voluntary and Community Sector. Meanwhile, Active Nottingham, Nottingham Swim School and the council’s school swimming department have been honoured at the recent Swim England Teaching and Education Awards.

The series titled ‘Brown Gal Can’t Swim’ sees Summaya learn to swim in just eight weeks at Active Nottingham swimming pools, supported by Nottingham Swim School swimming teacher Victoria Charles. Olympians Rebecca Adlington and Alice Dearing also provide support and guidance and set Summaya additional challenges including a 500m open water swim – will she do it? You’ll have to listen to the podcast to find out.

Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture, Cllr Pavlos Kotsonis, said: “We’re thrilled to be a part of this project with Summaya and the BBC to help raise awareness and showcase the importance of learning to swim within South Asian communities. This campaign will go a long way to help break down barriers that people face when it comes to swimwear, changing rooms, and going swimming itself and help get more communities involved in swimming.

“Active Nottingham and Nottingham Swim School are proud to have helped Summaya learn to swim over the past eight weeks and it was great to see her face the 500m open water challenge at Spring Lakes.

“Summaya has also worked with the black swimming association to challenge the lack of representation of black and Asian people in both recreational and elite swimming – she also engaged with Olympic swimmers Becky Adlington and Alice Dearing in her campaign, who both set her challenges for Summaya to complete.

Her work with diverse communities is second to none, both engaging and empowering!”

The Brown Gal Can’t Swim podcast is available on BBC Sounds: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p0ctzgft It will also be broadcast as a series on BBC East Midlands Today from Tuesday 11 October 2022.

Nottingham Swim School backs National Drowning Prevention Week campaign

Can this brown gal swim? The final day!

Spoiler Alert!

Brown Gal Can’t Swim: City Council helps BBC presenter to get South Asian women swimming