logo
School takes matters into its own hands to get its children swimming

School takes matters into its own hands to get its children swimming

Yahoo12-07-2025
A school in Swindon has taken the unusual step of installing its own swimming pool in its playground.
Drove Primary School in Swindon has added the feature so that it can deliver vital lessons to children and members of the school community.
The lessons, delivered in partnership with Fortius PE, aim to help pupils meet national curriculum requirements and develop water confidence, while also reaching out to parents who may not have had the chance to learn to swim.
Recommended reading
Students do 24-hour cycling challenge in heatwave
Teen crowned national champion after winning double gold at Jiu Jitsu tournament
School attack 'not as described' as new info sparks further investigation
Repi Begum, councillor for Lydiard and Freshbrook and also parent at the school, said: "It's an amazing opportunity, especially for people (like me) who need to stay covered for religious reasons.
"Other places don't offer female lifeguards or women-only sessions like this.
"It's also well timed, as we can drop the children at school, join the session, get a bit of exercise, get fit, make new friends and gain confidence in the water.
"I'm really grateful to the school for organising this for us and our children."
The temporary pool is 1.2 metres deep, 10 metres long and six metres wide, and was installed to address the shortage of swimming facilities in the area.
Sarah Hyde, a swimming instructor involved in the programme, said: "It's a great initiative, the closure of swimming pools across the town meant there weren't the available hours to get the children the swimming lessons they needed to meet the national curriculum requirements.
"Previously, the number of pupils meeting the targets was below 30 per cent.
"With this approach, every child has the chance to learn, and we can dramatically improve that figure."
The programme is also reaching beyond the classroom.
Kelly Reynolds, PE teacher at Drove Primary School, said: "Opportunities for families to swim are becoming very limited, and if they can find somewhere local, it can be too expensive to go.
"Culturally and traditionally, swimming for our school mums isn't accessible.
"With the help of Fortius PE and with public funding, we were excited to be able to offer free swimming lessons for mums who often feel they are unable to go swimming or even learn to swim."
Headteacher Bryony Bardwell praised the wider impact of the scheme.
Ms Bardwell said: "This initiative isn't just about meeting targets—it's about equipping our children and mums with a vital life skill that could one day save their life.
"I'm incredibly proud of our staff and students and extremely grateful to Fortius PE for helping make it happen."
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Grealish among Napoli targets - Thursday's gossip
Grealish among Napoli targets - Thursday's gossip

Yahoo

time8 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Grealish among Napoli targets - Thursday's gossip

Manchester City winger Grealish among Napoli targets, Javi Guerra rejects Valencia contract amid Manchester United interest and Tottenham monitor United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo. Manchester City and England winger Jack Grealish, 29, is one of several left-sided players being considered by Napoli. (Corriere dello Sport - in Italian) Javi Guerra has rejected an offer to renew his contract with Valencia, with Manchester United said to be monitoring the 22-year-old Spanish midfielder. (Marca - in Spanish) Tottenham are closely monitoring Kobbie Mainoo, with the Manchester United midfielder yet to agree a long-term extension to his contract, which expires in 2027. ( Atalanta plan to make a move for Liverpool and Italy winger Federico Chiesa, 27, if Juventus meet their €50m (£43m) valuation to sign Nigeria forward Ademola Lookman, 27. (Football Italia) West Ham are in talks with Callum Wilson over a free transfer following the 33-year-old England striker's release from Newcastle. (Sky Sports) Spurs are monitoring the contract situation of Bayern Munich's Joao Palhinha. The Bavarian club are open to talks should an offer arrive for the 30-year-old Portuguese international. (Florian Plettenberg) RB Leipzig have named attacking midfielder Xavi Simons in their training camp squad, despite the 22-year-old being linked with a move to Chelsea and the Dutch international holding talks over personal terms with the Blues. (Standard) Borussia Dortmund are interested in signing 20-year-old Brighton midfielder Facundo Buonanotte. The Argentina international spent last season on loan at Leicester City and has three years left on his contract. (Sky Sports) Talks between Marseille and Feyenoord for Brazilian winger Igor Paixao are at a standstill after the French club's £24m bid fell short of the asking price. (RMC - in French) Leeds United now retain hope of signing the 25-year-old. (Yorkshire Evening Post) Turkey midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu has been linked with a move away from Inter Milan but the 31-year-old says he wants to stay at the Italian club. (Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian) Manchester City want to keep Ederson despite Galatasaray expressing an interest in the 31-year-old Brazil goalkeeper, who is about to enter the final year of his contract. (The Independent) Fulham are confident of keeping hold of academy midfielder Seth Ridgeon despite Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea showing interest in the 16-year-old England Under-17 captain. (Standard) All your football quizzes in one place Listen to the latest Football Daily podcast Follow your club with BBC Sport

Darren Till, Luke Rockhold erupt over PEDs, 'weird' negotiations, more in fiery Misfits Boxing face-to-face
Darren Till, Luke Rockhold erupt over PEDs, 'weird' negotiations, more in fiery Misfits Boxing face-to-face

Yahoo

time8 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Darren Till, Luke Rockhold erupt over PEDs, 'weird' negotiations, more in fiery Misfits Boxing face-to-face

Tensions are already rising between former UFC middleweights Darren Till and Luke Rockhold. Timing never aligned for Till and Rockhold to collide while still under the UFC banner. Instead, they're now set to compete in a six-round, 193-pound boxing match at Misfits Boxing 22 on Aug. 30 in Manchester, England. Till and the former UFC middleweight champion met face-to-face for the first time on Wednesday at a pre-fight press conference in London. Afterward, their verbal jabs continued to fly on a heated virtual faceoff on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show," which led to Till accusing Rockhold of taking performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). Till: "I'm gonna f***ing beat you up just for being a little juice head c***." Rockhold: "You're not 'Tilly,' you're 'T****es' now. You're f***ing 'T****es.'" Till: "I'm just like 'DC' (Daniel Cormier). 'DC' was a big fat jack of potato, but he could still fight like f***. I'm the white 'DC.'" Rockhold: "Ask 'DC' how our boxing matches went. I made t****es fly. ... You better get in shape and shut up." Till first lobbed the PED accusations at Rockhold during Wednesday's pre-fight press conference, while Rockhold countered with similar accusations of his own toward Till. Throughout their professional combat sports careers, neither man has tested positive for any banned substances. "You can get the VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Association) involved," Rockhold said to Till. "I had local guys telling me everybody from your team has popped. And it's always the person accusing people the most who are on s***." From a purely fighting perspective, both have been known for their strong striking abilities, albeit in different respects. Rockhold will be Till's third pro boxing match (fourth overall), while Rockhold's lone boxing appearance was in a ill-fated bare-knuckle match with Mike Perry in April 2023. Although Till and Rockhold have both been knocked out in their MMA careers, they've each managed to avoid that fate in competition since leaving the UFC. Despite Till having the advantage in recent boxing experience, Rockhold remains confident that his chin will hold up better in their matchup. Till, of course, disagreed. "I can take every shot," Till stated. "Look at the shots I took from all the guys I fought at middleweight. No one knocked me out. Nobody knocked me out at middleweight, and I fought all the best guys. [Robert] Whittaker, Dricus [du Plessis], all them guys, [Kelvin] Gastelum. I laughed at everyone and I've got a f***ing chin. You got battered by Mike Perry, and let me just tell ya, I'm not even looking for the Mike Perry fight now. He's that much of a bum. He's the biggest bum out there. He's a bum." Historically, Rockhold has been the physically bigger fighter, competing as high as 205 pounds in the UFC light heavyweight division, while Till started out as a 170-pound welterweight. They'll meet in somewhat of a middle ground at 193 pounds for Misfits Boxing 22. Rockhold last competed at 195 pounds for his Karate Combat victory over Joe Schilling last year. That being said, Rockhold claims it wasn't easy landing on the match's weight. "This kid's been b****ing about everything," Rockhold said. "He wanted it 185. His last fight was 198, I believe. Then he said he wouldn't go above 188, which is just f***ing weird and dumb. It just shows weakness. Then, somehow, we b**** about that for a couple weeks and settle on 193. I don't know what these f***ing weights are he keeps coming up with. But let's pick a real weight. Have a pair of balls and let's just do this right. What are we b****ing about? We're all in the same thing. His last fights were much above weight, and he's just obviously scared and trying to take weight away to make things harder [for me]. Make himself up, try to say I'm slower, try to say I'm chinny. "I guarantee you I'm faster than you. I hit harder than you, I move better than you and I've got a bigger set of balls." Before Rockhold signed to make his Misfits Boxing debut, his first bout of 2025 appeared to be an MMA return for a would-be rematch against old rival Chris Weidman. That fight was set to be within the upstart Global Fight League (GFL), which never got off the ground due to ambitious financial promises. In hindsight, Rockhold admits he never knew whether he'd actually get a chance to fight for the promotion, but was happy to accept the money GFL offered him. He also isn't closing the door on the sport he made his name in, he just wants to focus on the sweet science for the time being. "I was there for the GFL to get paid," Rockhold said. "Everybody else thought it was going to happen. I was getting paychecks, I made money. I was getting paid, dog. They were dishing out seven-figure paychecks on the schedule that were made for non-UFC champions. You gotta think like, that's not going to be feasible. How are you going to keep that business up and running when those guys are getting paid that much? There's not enough revenue to counteract that. So, I was taking the paychecks and moving on. "Boxing is what I want to do, and I never close the door on MMA, but it's nice to take a break and I want to box for a little bit."

Bayer Leverkusen sign Jarell Quansah from Liverpool for £35m
Bayer Leverkusen sign Jarell Quansah from Liverpool for £35m

Yahoo

time16 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Bayer Leverkusen sign Jarell Quansah from Liverpool for £35m

Bayer Leverkusen have confirmed the signing of England Under-21 defender Jarell Quansah from Liverpool in a deal worth up to £35 million. The 22-year-old has signed a five-year contract with Leverkusen, who beat several European clubs to his signature following a standout summer for England at the European Under-21 Championship. Liverpool will receive an initial £30 million, with an additional £5m in performance-based add-ons. The Premier League champions have also inserted a buy-back clause, underlining their belief in Quansah's long-term potential. A product of Liverpool's academy, he broke into the first team under Jurgen Klopp in 2023 and featured regularly during the Reds' title-winning campaign last season. His final act in a Liverpool shirt was lifting the Premier League trophy at Anfield, capping a breakthrough season with silverware. Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes described Quansah as one of England's most promising centre-backs. He highlighted the defender's physicality, ball-winning ability and forward drive as qualities that would enhance their squad. Quansah said he was excited by the challenge. He revealed he had been impressed by Leverkusen's performance at Anfield in the Champions League and was motivated by the club's ambitious project. Leverkusen's interest in Quansah was accelerated by his performances at the Under-21 Euros, where he helped England beat Germany 3-2 in the final. His composure, athleticism and leadership at the back stood out throughout the tournament. The move marks the third major transfer between Liverpool and Leverkusen this summer. The Reds previously secured deals for Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz. While Liverpool view Quansah as a future star, the club are pressing ahead with plans to reinforce their backline. Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi is among their primary targets, although negotiations are still in their early stages. Quansah now embarks on a new chapter in Germany, with Leverkusen hoping he will be a defensive pillar for years to come.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store