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An Olympic Launch Day At Tong Leadership Academy

A day to remember

On Sunday 22 May, we were super proud to work with four-time Olympic Medallist, Becky Adlington OBE to launch a brand new Learn to Swim programme at our partner school, Tong Leadership Academy.

The new programme was designed to encourage the next generation to make a splash and learn the essential life skill of swimming. 

Lots of fun was had as local families came down to the launch at Tong Leadership Academy, getting a taste of what’s to offer and taking part in a variety of free fun sports sessions including swimming, dodgeball and football! There was also a special opening ceremony and ribbon cutting to mark the occasion.

As part of the day, there were free learn to swim sessions for junior swimmers aspiring to be the next Olympic champion!

The new swimming programme, as well as the new sports facilities, provides an opportunity for children in Bradford and the surrounding areas to learn a life skill in swimming, as well as other transferable skills which can help in all aspects of a child’s development, such as confidence, determination, resilience, and social skills. 

Our partnership with Total Swimming Academies, means that in addition to a new swimming pool, Bradford children can look forward to a new floodlit 3G pitch, gymnasium and sports hall, as well as new dance, drama and beauty therapy studios and even a theatre. 

Becky, co-founder of Sporting House, a group of Olympian-led brands, which includes Swim!, SwimStars and Beth Tweddle Gymnastics, has dedicated the last fifteen years to ensuring children from all backgrounds are given the opportunity to learn to swim. 

She said:

“Over lockdown we saw our little ones become less and less active, in fact since Covid-19 it has been reported that children are inactive for 25 minutes longer each day* - this is seriously worrying.’ It's now our responsibility to ensure that kids have all the resources available to get moving, stay active and get into sports more than ever before - and what better way to do this than by swimming. Swimming is also an essential life-saving skill, and we are determined to break down barriers, whether that be a lack of facilities, teachers or lesson availability, to make sure swimming is accessible for all children. With the launch of this new programme in Bradford, children will not only learn to swim, but will gain a whole host of transferable skills sure to benefit them as they grow up. I can't wait to watch how the programme impacts the lives of the children of Tong Leadership Academy and the surrounding areas.”

Dan Styles, Principal at Tong Leadership Academy said

“We are very proud of our first-class specialist facilities available to our pupils, which include a 25m swimming pool, floodlit multi-use games area, sports hall, gym, theatre and drama and dance studios. We are delighted that these are now available to the wider community to improve local access to these facilities that are so important to our health and wellbeing.”

Tong Leadership Academy is offering FREE swim introduction sessions once the centre is open. To book your child’s free session, please visit: https://www.totalswimming.co.uk/find_a_class/


If you would like to book any facilities at Tong Leadership Academy for your sport, class or activity or would like to see what other facilities we have to offer, you can do so here.

*UKActive

The Sporting House Group is made up of several Olympian-led brands, all striving for one common goal - to break down the barriers to kids reaching their full potential. 

Founded by the Olympians themselves, Sporting House is on a mission to inspire change, build infrastructure, and develop future talent.

Through its various initiatives and programmes, Sporting House engages more than 20,000 children across the UK every week in physical activity and has delivered more than 2,000 teacher and coach qualifications.

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