Swimming Lessons for School-Aged are suitable for children 4.5/5 years old and above.
School-aged children could have different swimming abilities depending on when they started to learn swimming and if they have taken any formal lessons and if yes, for how long. Below is the list of all levels we offer school-aged children lessons for.
Beginners
Children who are school-aged and have never done any formal swimming lessons, normally need to start at our beginners or beginners+ level depending how water-confident they are.
Beginners+
Beginners+ level is for children who are fully water-confident and can swim about 5 meters on their own, on front and back, without using any swimming aids or adult help. There is no need to swim with any particular stroke to cover 5 meters for this level.
Improvers
Children are classed as improvers level if they have done formal swimming lessons (normally from pre-school age) and can do the below:
Swim 8-10 meters Front Crawl and Backstroke (strokes should be recognisable but not fully polished)
Able to push off from the poolside and glide both on front and back and kick (flutter kicks) strongly at least for 8 meters.
Can jump and/or dive safely (either from a sitting or standing position) and confidently in the deep end of the pool.
Can pick objects from the bottom of the pool confidently.
Can swim at least 8-10 meters in the deep end of the pool (where they cannot touch the bottom of the pool) without any floatation objects or direct help of an adult.
Improvers+
Children are classed as improvers+ level if they have done formal swimming lessons and perform all the below skills:
Can swim 25 meters Front Crawl and Backstroke with good technique as well as performing Breaststroke and dolphin (butterfly) kicks.
Can dive safely as well as treading and sculling water for at least 30 seconds.
Can swim at least 50 meters continuously with recognisable swimming strokes (i.e, 25 meter of Front Crawl and 25 meter of Backstroke).
Advanced
This level is suitable For children who:
Can swim at least 25 meters Front Crawl, Backstroke and Breaststroke with very good techniques.
Can swim at least 100 meter continuously with recognisable swimming strokes (could be mixture of strokes).
Can swim 15-25 meters of Butterfly.
Can dive with good technique in the deep end of the pool.
Can perform surface dives and pick objects up from the bottom of the pool in depth more than 2.00 m.
You can see what we mean by ‘Can swim at least 25 meters Front Crawl’ in this video.
Blue Wave Swim is an outstanding swim school that I would highly recommend. The teachers are professional, patient, and genuinely care about every child’s progress. They keep a watchful eye on each swimmer, making safety their top priority while building confidence in the water.(May Achour July 2026).
Highly Recommended. Our girls, two sisters aged 7 and 5, loved the teacher, looked forward to their semi-private courses, and made significant progress in two weeks (Mr B Mashhoodi September 2026).
My son has been going to swimming lessons at Blue Wave in Wimbledon for a few years now and thoroughly enjoys it. The teaching is great and the lessons well run. Helps to prepare him for when we finally get to go on holiday again!
Highly recommend this swimming school. My daughter has been attending since she was 1 years old and she loves it. The teachers are very good with children and my daughter, who is now 4 years old is very confident in the water.
My daughter loves swimming! Since attending Blue Wave Swim School lessons her water confidence is high and that gives us peace of mind when she is playing near water. The staff are fantastic and the lessons are fun!
Our children, now ages 9 and 7, have been taking lessons with Blue Wave since early 2017. They have made great progress with their swimming skills. We have been very impressed with the teaching and personalised attention both children have received. Best of all they enjoy and look forward to their lessons. The location is also convenient for Wimbledon residents.
Kids love coming and I can see the development over the weeks. I can see the teachers laying down foundations for a lifetime of swimming – very reassuring as a parent and exactly why you choose a swimming school rather than go it alone