for Bishopsgate pupils only
Our aim is to be recognised as a ‘High Achieving Swimming School’. In order to become this, we will select talented children to train with the school swimming squad. We will also include additional training for those deemed talented enough to represent the school at the IAPS competition.
All swimmers will be provided with the same opportunities to represent Bishopsgate in school galas. However, team selection will be carried out by identifying the fastest swimmer for each individual event. Typically swimmers are invited to attended additional swimming squad training from Year 3 onwards although talented swimmers in Year 2 may also guest in the squad.
Students take part in swimming lessons at Bishopsgate whilst children are in Nursery. For many, this may be the first time they have undertaken any formal swimming lessons so we understand how daunting or exciting this may be for them.
Initially, children are assessed to ascertain their confidence and skill level in the water. Once our instructors have an understanding of each child they are then placed into small groups with children of a similar ability.
Swimming lessons for those children in Nursery are based on developing confidence, having fun and being safe in the water. Once children become more confident and are capable of understanding instructions, the instructors will then work on specific swimming skills for example:
Swimming instructors from Frogs & Friends will be teaching your child to swim. They have a dedicated Swimming Pool Manager based at the school and a team of experience and highly qualified instructors to ensure your child receives the very best tuition.
Frogs & Friends have been providing swimming lessons in the local area for over 50 years. They are also an Approved Training Centre for the Institute of Swimming and The Royal Lifesaving Society. This means they have both experience in teaching children to swim as well as teaching adults to become swimming teachers and lifeguards.
In order to ensure your children are receiving the very best tuition, Frogs & Friends and Bishopsgate work together by undertaking regular reviews on all aspects of swimming delivery including:
Children will be given the opportunity to swim unaided as soon as they are confident in the water and their Instructor believes they are competent enough to perform this task without compromising any skills they have been working on.
At the early stage of a child’s swimming development it is important that the quality of the technique overrides any requirements for distance. Our instructors use a vast array of swimming aids depending on the swimmers:
Often a child will use a variety of different aids throughout the term. Not only will this help with progression it will often improve confidence and make for a more interesting lesson.
It is important to remember that swimming aids also help provide a safe environment for children to learn in. Class sizes range from 6 to 12 so making sure swimmers are safe is our primary concern.
Each child will have one lesson per week included in their school fees. This lesson will last approximately 35mins allowing time for children to get changed etc. Children in Years 3 & 4 will also have an additional lesson on a Wednesday afternoon, as we feel this will add great benefit to their swimming development at this vital age.
In addition to the above, the school runs three morning training sessions for those children in swim squad and who are likely to represent the school in galas.
After school swimming is available to all children during the week and is run by Frogs & Friends. There is a charge for these sessions and they are booked directly with Frogs & Friends.
Children will be expected to bring the following equipment to swimming lessons:
For those children that require aids, these will be provided by the school.
Bishopsgate adopts the same policy as Swim England and the Swimming Teacher Association with regards to the importance of children being able to swim with and without goggles.
Swim England state ‘it is vital children are comfortable swimming with or without goggles so they don’t panic in an unexpected situation’.
Children may bring swimming goggles to the lessons but at times will be asked to swim with or without them.
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In an ideal world we would like to see swimmers improve at the same rate but this is never going to be the case. Our experience has shown that children who only take part in the school curriculum swimming will be less likely to represent the school, compared to that of a pupil who swims outside of the school academic day.
Like many sports and skills the more time you spend practicing, the better you become. Unfortunately to become a very competitive swimmer you need to be swimming between 3 and 5 times a week.
Our swimming staff can help identify the best development plan for your child. We run many after school sessions and have strong links with a number of local clubs. We are passionate about swimming and are more than happy to help individuals become great swimmers.
Children will be taught the skills necessary to perform all strokes right from their first lesson. The table below indicates what we hope each child will be able to perform if they have attended lessons at Bishopsgate since enrolling in Nursery.
Tuskers
Reception
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4 to 8
In order to be selected to train with the School Swimming Squad, children need to meet the following criteria:
Children in Year 3 & 4 must be able to:
Children in Year 5 & above must be able to:
Students at Bishopsgate will be able to receive speed awards through Swim England. These awards cover all four strokes with Bronze, Silver and Gold award categories.
If a child achieves a Gold from the Speed Awards, this is a good indication that he or she is potentially of a club standard.
Those children in Year 3 & 4 that are able to achieve these times will be invited to join school swim squad training.
Any children that are able to achieve these times will be invited to attend school swim squad training.
Children that are able to achieve these times are likely to be invited to attend additional swimming training in preparation for IAPS Swimming. Please note selection for IAPS is based on internal qualifying times.
Teaching points
Backstroke PDF Breaststroke PDF Butterfly PDF Front crawl PDF
The Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS) is a schools association with around 650 of the world’s leading prep schools in membership.
IAPS believes passionately in the importance of sport as part of an all-round education for its pupils. Many Olympic stars and national representatives in a vast array of sports began their careers in IAPS schools where their enthusiasm and talent were first nurtured.
The IAPS’s swimming gala is the largest event in the IAPS calendar with more than 400 teams entering the qualifying galas. All swimmers are aiming to qualify for the largest prep school swimming finals, competing against the fastest 20 individuals in the country. For some swimmers, this may be the first time they have represented their school in a sports competition.
Internal Qualifying Times PDFThe competition will be run under ASA laws and technical rules.
Winning an event at the QR does not guarantee a place at the finals.
All competitors must attend an IAPS school.
Children should be entered into races based on their DOB on 1 September 2024 and not based on their year group.
Swimmers may swim up but must only compete in one age group for the duration of the competition.
Schools may enter one swimmer per school per event.
Children are only permitted to swim in one individual race and two relays.
All relays will start in the deep end of the pool. No diving at the shallow end.
The event referees decision is final.
Qualification for the finals will depend on times achieved by participation in an official IAPS QR. No submitted times or times from individual time trials held outside of an official IAPS QR will be accepted.
A competitor is tied to the school that submits their QR time. If a child moves school between the QR and finals, the child must represent the school for which they swam their QR.
Expected stroke standard for 25 metres.
For more information about swimming at Bishopsgate please call 01784 480 224 or email us at info@frogsandfriends.org
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