Qld school swimming lessons: More than 80 of schools don’t have their own pool

More than 80 per cent of Queensland schools don’t have their own pools, and the state government has not allocated a pool as part of any of the 20 new schools built since 2017.

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The Queensland government has not built a single new school with a swimming pool in the past five years - when 21 schools have opened.

Across the Sunshine State, only about 200 of about 1200 public schools have their own swimming pool, meaning more than 80 per cent of schools are forced to transport their students to access swimming lessons.

The government has built 21 new state schools since 2017, including in Fortitude Valley, Dutton Park, Caloundra South and Pimpama.

Fortitude Valley State Secondary College, in inner-city Brisbane, doesn’t have a pool. Picture: AAP Image/Attila Csaszar

Legendary Olympic swimming coach and safety advocate Laurie Lawrence said children who attended schools with pools were “certainly at an advantage” when it came to learning to swim, as well as having access to swimming pools to boost their physical health.

“It’s a double whammy,” he said.

Swim safety advocate Laurie Lawrence. Picture: Mark Cranitch.

Mr Lawrence, who earlier this week called for a minimum of 10 swimming lessons to be part of the school curriculum, said while working as a physical education teacher in the 1960s it was common to see schools being built with their own pools.

Asked whether more public schools having their own swimming facilities on site would be beneficial to curb the rate of children drowning, Mr Lawrence said “it would certainly help”.

“It has to help the kids who attend that school,” he said.

“You can’t learn to swim if you don’t get wet, and if there is a pool right there at their school, they’re much more likely to get wet.”

A spokesman for the Education Department said it was “committed to the safety and wellbeing of students in Queensland schools and ensuring they have the knowledge and skills needed to be safe in, on and around diverse water locations”.

“The department can confirm that new schools built over the past five years have not included the construction of swimming pools, including the new schools being delivered in 2023,” he said.

He also said no swimming pools had been decommissioned on school sites in the past five years.

An aerial of Pimpama State Secondary College shows big grounds but no pool. Picture: Aerial imagery by Nearmap.

Earlier this week, Education Minister Grace Grace defended the government’s swimming program, saying she would “like to reassure families that swimming lessons are already compulsory in all Queensland state primary schools”. “There is not a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to our schools, especially in a state as diverse and decentralised as Queensland,” she said.

“I’d encourage parents and carers who think these lessons should be delivered differently to talk to their local school in the first instance, and of course if there are examples of schools not delivering what they’re required to, we want to fix that.”

But Mr Lawrence said swimming lessons “were not compulsory”, and the government should make clear the difference between kids learning theoretical water safety, and engaging in practical, in-pool swimming lessons. “Just say it as it is,” he said.

Some parents have also lamented being charged for swimming classes – usually for transportation to public pools for schools who don’t have pools – as well as their kids participating in blocks.

Mr Lawrence agreed the cost of transport could be higher, “usually higher than the pool fees”.

Originally published as Qld school swimming lessons: More than 80 of schools don’t have their own pool