Bubbles and Breathe: the swimming school that’s as much fun for parents as it is for their children
Swimming school owner Samantha Peel knows all about teaching children to swim – she raised her own four children in Indonesia where the risk from open pools was all around.
With drowning one of the leading causes of accidental death among youngsters in the UK, Sam, 43, now living in Takeley, has made it her mission to ensure children have easy access to lessons and grow up as confident swimmers, equipped with vital safety and survival skills and a healthy respect for water.
As an already qualified swimming instructor with a love of scuba diving, two years ago she took the plunge and launched her swim school Bubbles and Breathe, hiring out a private indoor pool at Little Maplestead, near Halstead.
Today, Sam has use of five other indoor pools, at Ashen on the Essex/Suffolk border, in Stebbing, near Dunmow, in Beauchamp Roding, High Roding and Hatfield Broad Oak, the latter all within easy reach of Bishop's Stortford.
She hopes to find a seventh facility in Stortford to give even more children the chance to learn to swim.
Bubbles and Breathe – so named as Sam says she constantly repeats this phrase in lessons – has more than 1,000 children, from babies up to the age of 11, on its books and provides after-school tuition.
“We provide fun and imaginative swimming classes for parent and baby as well as after school lessons for ages 4-11 years,” she said. “We’re continually growing and finding more indoor heated pools to provide more spaces for our waiting lists.
“We’ve doubled in size and capacity since January and now have an incredible team of 23 teachers and poolside assistants,” said Sam. These include her 17-year-old daughter, Georgia.
“My children grew up in Indonesia and we always had open pools, so it was important for me that they learned to swim immediately, as babies.
“We teach them all the skills, like being able to turn, as drowning always happens close to the side.
“Your child doesn’t swim out to the middle of the pool and then drown, they jump in and get into difficulty. We teach them to turn and grab onto the side from day one and not to be scared of water splashing up in their face.”
Having left behind her previous career in printing, Sam now uses her organisational skills to bring together a network of mums and dads for weekly lessons via WhatsApp groups and admits to feeling very proud watching new parents develop friendships.
“I wanted to create somewhere where parents could go without being judged. It can be lonely being a parent and I wanted a welcoming place and it’s lovely when I see them arranging coffee or brunch.
“The children have great fun with our themed lessons and we ensure the parents are enjoying it just as much.”
Sam delights at the constant stream of holiday videos she is sent of little ones flourishing in the water. “I love it!” she says.
