Is swimming compulsory in secondary school?
 

Well....Harrison has bought his timetable home from secondary school and has swimming as one of his PE lessons......

Thing is he still cannot swim, he has had swimming lessons since he was two and a half and is now eleven and a half, had numerous teachers....but he just cannot do it and so now dreads going swimming....even on holiday he will not go in a pool or the sea and we just don`t know what to do next??? We have tried loads of things but no-one seems to get through this barrier he has!!!!

I have spoken to him about it and he is quite willing to do another sport or stay in school and do theory work...so what do I do???

Approach the school and tell them the situation?
Insist he does swimming again...even though he will not take his feet off the bottom of the pool?
Keep him off school while that lesson is going ahead...(which I don`t want to do as this is his first year in secondary school)

So is swimming compulsory or does anyone think we stand a good chance of opting out of this one.....

Info would be good from all angles....


Ta very much

Joan.

He needs to swim...... even if the nugget wont take his feet off the bottom of the pool... let him stand there... he'll soon get used to the water and be off like Thorpe................... ;)

You are way too soft and I expect to see you on an episode of Teen Tamer fairly soon......:thumb:

Don't think I particularly liked swimming til (guessing) 6 or 7.

Couldn't get enough after that,

He must keep going.Most important thing to learn,however long it takes.Good luck

There are 1,260,000,000,000,000,000,000 litres of water on this planet - 70% of all the planet mass. It would be madness not to beat him until he learns. :mad:

Make him do it. Christ even dogs can swim so he should be able to learn. I'm sure they'll have a remedial group he can join and ensure he's bullied once they return to class.

As you've guessed you'll have to speak to the school about it- different schools have different policies.
In general though you have to provide some medical evidence, i.e. doctor's note to opt out. The school won't like to be seen to budge too easily or it'll set an example to other students.

Nick

Agree.

Excuses for any child not being able to swim nowadays means their parents couldn't be bothered to take them at an early age and are now paying the price.

Tell him he's going, yes he'll get wet but he won't rust!

Take him to a pool, throw him in, he'll learn really quickly :thumb:

There seems to be a consensus forming... and I'll go along with it.

Kids often try it on when they're apprehensive about something, all the more reason to send him. He'll thank you for it when he's older.

He already has....he has ginger hair....LOL


We have been taking him swimming since he was two and a half and he has had lots of teachers...all who say they don`t know what to try next....so I feel stuck really.

He hates washing his hair and when he gets in the shower it`s a real struggle to get him to wash his face....I have to threaten to get in with him....but at eleven it`s not very appropiate is it!!!!

We have even tried pushing him in....as a last resort but NO...would he budge....like hell.....even the deep end....one teacher panicked and dived in as he could see he was struggling....just at my wits end now!!!!!

Ginger:


No point going any further with this thread then :(

Joan,

i'm fairly sure its not compulsory. my son is at secondary school and there's been no mention of swimming. when he was at primary school we were sent a letter asking if he wanted to go swimming, which he did :thumb:

whilst i don't think its right to make the lad go if he really doesn't want to, he may well pick it up if all his school mates are there to encourage him...

if you don't want him to go i'd suggest writing to the school...

I had swimming lessons for years. After the school stopped, my dad took me on a Saturday morning.

Complete waste of time. I can JUST about doggy paddle 10metres. Fcuking useless.

Thanks miss Kinky...
He did do swimming in primary school...years 4 and 5...but they gave up on him in the end...just like the other teachers....left him in the shallow end all lesson on his own....just standing there...:(

I know it is important to swim but he just doesn`t seem to be able to get to grips with it....

Unfortunately 2 1/2 wasn't anywhere early enough to get your son used to water.

11 years old and you can't budge him? May I suggest 2 flat hands in the small of his back and move then in the forward direction. :D

Seriously though, as said above, he will thank you later if you persist. If he doesn't go he'll be bullied.

I think it's weird if you can't swim.Like a man who can't drive

most of them can't....

Or maybe they just prefer not to ;)

Thats a key point Spoon makes. He will be singled out by his peers and bullied if he doesnt go. Even if he makes a hash of the lessons at first, he'll fit in with his classmates more, which is important when ginger ;)
In secondary school there wont be just him who is useless in the water...I'm sure they will be better prepared to deal with the unfloatables...

It's psychological...
 

If he fears water or getting his face wet he needs help to understand and overcome his fears.

Sounds like all the "manly" approaches have been tried :roll "Throw him in, panic 'cos they think he's drowning, pull him out". :roll

Often, a bad early experience can lead to long term avoidance. The shower/bath bit sounds a bit worrying though. Reads like he's transferring bad swimming experiences to other activities involving water.

The problem needs talking about and treating far away from a swimming pool, at least initially. I don't know if you can get hypnotherapy for swimming...

J.

Here we go.......... only a matter of time before the feckin PC social workers arrived............... :rolleyes:

He's a nerdy ginger who needs to be told (or shown) how to feckin swim....;) if you start hypnotherapy, accupunture, reflexology, shrinks etc... you are asking for trouble...... you'll end up with a ginger mentalist who can't do anything before a visit to the quacks to reassure him it's all OK..... :rolleyes:

He's not a nerdy ginger....he is good at loads of other things...mountain biking, go-karting, tennis, cricket and skateboarding....he is quite sporty actually, compared to some others in our road.....he just hates the swimming or the water....


.....anything constructive would be good as we have tried most things that most have already mentioned....

Thanks...

Joan

I'll try my best then............. :wonder:

Hair dye? white and ginger aint the best combination........ :D

But they can probably swim........ ;)

make him do it , he ll learn . i cant believe myself that an 11 yo cant swim !!
maybe just me , we all grew up near to water but still find it hard to believe .

DCI Gene Hunt...

yeah...they can but one of them can`t ride a bike!!!!!....and he`ll be 12 in October....

the problem sounds physcological to me. He has attached "danger" and "fear" to water in his mind. He has had 11 years of being programmed that way.
I think he needs to see a counselor. The part about not wanting to wash his face in the shower is a bit strange. Sounds like he suffers from aquaphobia/hydrophobia.

Google "Fear of water" and you might get some usefull info.

Also, he will be bullied badly there is no doubt about that. If that happens he will have the same reaction to school as he does to water.

A FECKIN COUNSELOR............. YOU HAVE TO BE FECKIN JOKING :lol1:

The 'lad' can't swim......... that's all........ pander to his needs now and you will pay the price long term......... ;)

Rather know how to swim first........... ;) but that's no excuse as the other 11 year old 'can't ride a bike' sounds like another complete muppet........ :D

Early sign of rabies that, suggest you muzzle him till you can give him his shots :D

I'd put money on him needing an inhaler, having allergies and getting sunburnt easily :)