Introduction

Learn to Swim (LTS) is a swimming school which is part of Aberdeen Amateur Swimming Club and all lessons are undertaken at an excellent facility at The International School of Aberdeen (ISA) located on the North Deeside Road.

LTS has 2 main aims, firstly, to teach swimmers the basics of the strokes so that the swimmers benefit through improved health and increased self–confidence. It is acknowledged that swimming is a life skill which every child should have.

The second aim is to prepare swimmers for entry into competitive swimming, if this is their wish. Aberdeen Amateur Swimming Club has a well established and successful competitive squad organisation. The transition from LTS to squad swimming builds on the skills developed in LTS in a environment known to the children.. Swimmers would also be skilled to participate in other aquatic disciplines, such as diving, water-polo and synchronised swimming.

Children are invited to join LTS at any age from 4 years. All swimmers who are not beginners are assessed by the Head Teacher and allocated to a level according to their ability. Swimmers come from all areas of the city and some travel from well outside the city.

LTS is affiliated to Scottish Swimming, as a Swim School and has SwiMark accreditation.

The LTS scheme has a dedicated administrator who will be able to advise on available sessions and the enrolment process. The administrator can be contacted by following email address or phone number.

Teachers

Many of the LTS teachers are present or past Club members, who have gained much from the Club in the past and who wish to contribute something back. The teachers all have the Level 1 qualification as a minimum and are encouraged to progress to a higher qualification as they gain experience. Our aim is for all teachers to be qualified to Level 2 standard.

All teachers must go through an PVG (Protecting Vulnerable Groups) Scheme check from Disclosure Scotland and are expected to have a Good Practice and Child Protection Certificate. The pupil teacher ratio is kept very low, in addition beginner level groups have in pool assistants to assist and encourage swimmers to give them confidence in the water.

Syllabus

The LTS is built around a structure of 7 levels of ability, from non-swimmers to pre-competition swimmers. There is a syllabus for each level and swimmers must achieve certain criteria to move from one level to the next. These criteria can be found below.

A brief outline of work done at each level is listed below and the full syllabus can be found here:

• Level 1 Water Confidence and Body Position
• Level 2 Introduction to Front Crawl and Back Crawl Kick
• Level 3 Introduction to breathing in Front Crawl; Introduction to arm action in Back Crawl; Introduction to Breast Stroke and Butterfly kick
• Level 4 Development of strokes
• Level 5 Further development of all 4 strokes
• Level 6 Introduction to length swimming
• Level 7 Development of all strokes; Development of endurance; Preparation for competitive swimming

When a swimmer achieves all the relevant criteria, they are promoted to the next level and receive a certificate. The reverse side of the certificates details the achievements of the swimmer and outlines the next step. The swimmers are continuously assessed by their teacher and a tick sheet is used to record progress. At the end of each term, all swimmers who are not promoted receive a report of their progress, showing what has been achieved and what still has to be achieved for promotion. The promotion criteria can be found here.

The lessons start at 1 x 30 minutes lesson per week for Levels 1-5, increasing to 2 x 1hour sessions per week at Level 7. As the swimmers move through the classes, they increase the distance they swim each lesson, thus building up some stamina. One of the most difficult skills for a swimmer to learn is Breast Stroke kick. We offer additional, specific Breast Stroke classes to swimmers who have fulfilled all the criteria for promotion from Level 3 to Level 4 apart from the Breast Stroke part. These focused classes are extremely successful, with the swimmers progressing more quickly in this more intensive environment. There are a limited number of one-to-one lessons and swimmers are encouraged to take these if they have a particular problem which is holding them back from being promoted. All enquiries relating to swimmers progress should be directed to the Head Teacher.

Teacher : Swimmer Ratio

The teacher:swimmer ratios we aim for are:

Widths
Level 1 & 2	1:6 plus 2 assistants in the water
Level 3	1:8 plus 2 assistants in the water
Level 4 & 5	1:9
Lengths
Level 6 & 7	1:12

Adult Swimming Lessons

LTS also offers 30 minute or One Hour lessons for adult beginners and improver adults at the ISA pool. This pool is great for adult swimmers, as there is no public viewing. The swimmers range from those who are totally terrified to those who are competent swimmers who want to improve their technique. Further information about these lessons is available from Shona Butt, the LTS administrator.