Walsall Leisure has confirmed the extension of its successful partnership with STA, reinforcing its commitment to providing high-quality swimming lessons to children in the local community. Since the inception of the partnership nine years ago, and the rebranding to an STA Swim Academy, participation in swimming programmes has seen tremendous growth, with almost 4,000 children now learning to swim at Walsall’s leisure centres every week.

Walsall Council implemented STA’s Swim Academy model in 2016 with the aim of raising swim teaching standards and increasing swimming participation at Bloxwich Active Living Centre, Darlaston Swimming & Fitness Centre, Oak Park Active Living Centre, and Walsall Gala Swimming and Fitness Centre.

By working closely with STA, a national governing body for swimming, the council introduced a recognised, high-quality teaching system and a fully inclusive programme for swimming lessons through STA’s International Learn to Swim Programme (ILSP). As a result, Walsall Swim Academy successfully achieved its aim of increasing participation and improving standards across all its leisure sites.

Stuart Webb, Group Manager for Leisure Services at Walsall Council said: “We are delighted to extend our partnership with STA. Over the last four years, since we last renewed, our Walsall Swim Academy has expanded even further; we’ve gone from strength to strength, and we now have almost 4,000 children learning to swim at our leisure centres every week. Importantly, this means we’ve been able to give even more young learners in the Walsall area the opportunity to learn a key life skill, which is fantastic.”

“As an extension to this, at Bloxwich Active Living Centre, we have also launched a new breakfast club initiative as part of the Walsall Swim Academy. This initiative offers swimming lessons before school on Monday mornings, providing children with an additional opportunity to develop their swimming skills in a structured and supportive environment – for further information you can contact us on 01922 652900.”

Zoe Cooper, STA’s Commercial Director, who is based at STA’s head office in Walsall, highlighted the factors behind the academy’s success: “The leisure team at Walsall Council have created an exemplary Swim Academy that maximises pool space. As a result, all the leisure sites have been able to significantly expand capacity and offer a more comprehensive swimming lesson programme for young learners of all ages and abilities, as well as create exciting new initiatives like the breakfast club.”

“With STA’s swimming teaching training programme, Walsall Swim Academy has also been able to cost-effectively train more swimming teachers to meet demand and, in turn, enhance and diversify its aquatic portfolio – from baby and pre-school swimming sessions through to Platinum Awards for advanced swimmers and Junior Lifeguard Academy courses.”