17-year-old teaches 780 Newham children to swim for free

A total of 780 children in Newham have learned to swim for free thanks to a programme organised by 17-year-old Jeremiah Carnegie. The Newham Future Swimmers initiative ran over two weeks at the London Aquatics Centre, aiming to address barriers to accessing the sport.

The programme was a partnership between Carnegie's swim club, Newham and UEL Swimming Club (NUEL), and the Aquatics Centre operator, Everyone Active. Primary schools across the London Borough of Newham were contacted to offer children the opportunity to participate.

Programme Details

Each child attended a 30-minute swimming session daily for five days during the summer holidays. The first week was for children who had never swum before, with 320 participants. The second week catered to children with some previous pool experience, attracting 460 participants. In total, 780 children signed up for the programme.

Families who needed them were provided with essential swimming equipment, such as swimsuits and goggles, at no cost. Carnegie, a competitive swimmer since the age of eight, noted that many local community members did not benefit from the venue's facilities due to cost.

Carnegie told MyLondon: "It was blatantly obvious that quite a lot of the venue wasn't being used to its full capacity by the local community. There were a lot of clubs training at the pool from all over London, but I felt like a lot of the local community wasn't able to access it."

He added: "There are so many barriers to getting into swimming, as it is an expensive sport." He also expressed hope that the children were inspired by training at the Olympic legacy venue.

Everyone Active supplied the pool space and four swimming teachers who volunteered their time. NUEL provided four coaches and volunteers to assist with registration and guiding participants. Parents reported increased confidence in their children around water.

Shaza Hussein, CEO of London Legacy Development Corporation, described the programme as a "fantastic example" of how the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park collaborates with local communities.

Carnegie indicated that while 780 children participated, thousands more were unable to sign up or were unaware of the initiative. He anticipates a larger turnout for future iterations of the programme.