At the beginning of my journey as a swimming teacher, I was not very assertive because I still did not fully understand the technical side of each stroke. I tried to recall the various criteria from every stage of my own learning and the progression through each of the criterion. With self-practice of all the drills that I have learned from the course along with my continued training with my swimming crew, I have become more aware of my own swimming and consider myself a better swimming teacher as a result. Another important part of the course is that it gives me more understanding of the roles around the pool, particularly the safety guard. It took me 8 months from initially learning to swim to becoming a swimming teacher. English is my second language, therefore some of the swimming phrases or vocabulary were complicated to me at first. I have never been on an intensive course in my life, it was tough having to balance family commitments and I felt it would be better if the course could run over a few weeks instead of being a one-week intensive course. However I enjoyed the course very much. I am a causal worker at Tritons Seeing kids having fun whilst knowing they’re gaining potentially life-saving skills

As a former swimmer and triathlete, the water is my second home. I am grateful for working in a role that can make me feel happy and satisfied. Since, I completed the Swim England Swimming Teacher courses (level 1 & 2) , I have had the most fulfillingand enjoyable time at work. What I learnt on the courses I am still using everyday. My passion for teaching and children is natural but the skills and great ideas mostly come from those few weeks at the course. I have been working with all ages, abilities and needs. Started in London at a fantastic swim school then carried on teaching in Hungary and at the moment I am teaching and coaching in Dubai. The Swim England qualifications are excepted in many countries across the world which really opened up doors for me as a Swimming Teacher. If you are interested in becoming a swimming teacher, go on! The world is waiting for you!

I attended both my level 1 and level 2 swimming teaching courses with The National College of Aquatics. I approached the courses with a fairly negative attitude having swum for a club for the last 10 years, and with some teaching experience already, the courses seemed unnecessary and a waste of my time. However, in the end, I found myself enjoying learning new things about swimming and was introduced to lots of new concepts I hadn’t even considered before. The courses gave me a forum to ask questions and establish the official view point on situations. I was also able to discuss my swimming teaching experiences and techniques with like minded people and an instructor with lots of experience. By the end of the course, I found that I was having fun and didn’t want the course to end! Now that I am level 2 qualified, I doing some swimming teaching in my spare time. It’s a great way to earn money while I’m still at school! Although sometimes it’s hard work, it can be very rewarding if you have a class that you can watch improve over the term. There seems to be a niche in the market for swimming teachers at the moment both at home and abroad, so hopefully I’ll never be out of work! The best part about swimming teaching qualifications is that they last forever, so it’ll always be possible to teach whatever I’m doing in the future!

The level 2 teaching course helped me to develop as a teacher by providing me with the knowledge and guidance to ensure that I am able to teach to the best of my ability. I had already been swimming for 14 years and competitively for 10 years at Epping Forest District Swimming Club before I attended the course. The course was enjoyable as we were encouraged to develop our own style of teaching and use fun activities such as games and singing during the lessons. I also enjoyed thinking of my own and hearing the creative ideas of others on the course so that I was able to deliver lessons that the children enjoyed participating in and I enjoyed teaching. I currently teach Learn To Swim classes for Epping Forest District Swimming Club and I am a cover swimming teacher for the Learn To Swim pathway at Loughton Leisure Centre. The thing I enjoy most about teaching swimming is being able to see the children that I teach improve and become more confident as swimmers, and to know that my teaching has in some way helped with this is very rewarding.

The course help to develop as teacher by helping realise that sometimes I need to alter my lesson plans during my lesson to accommodate my swimmers. It taught me the lessons are not only about learning to swim, it’s about enjoying yourself also. I love swimming but I learnt to swim as an adult which initially made me very reluctant to pursue a career as a swimming teacher however the courses were delivered in a way I could understand without needing a competitive swimming background which I was very grateful for. The tutor individualised the course and pushed us as students into areas different areas so it was challenging for everybody regardless of previous experience. The course was enjoyable as I got the chance to see different ways of teaching, different ideas and games to use to encourage children to swim. I am currently working at Tritons Swim School, what I enjoy about being a teacher is seeing the progression in my swimmers as well as seeing them generally just enjoy the lesson and having fun.