• 1 in 6 British adults say they do not know how to swim
• Lack of access to public pools and swimming programmes major contributors to dwindling water skills
• 33% don’t feel confident in the water, leaving them feeling vulnerable, embarrassed and self-conscious
• easyJet Holidays launches new ‘Swim School’ programme, offering free lessons to 1,000 British adults across the country
• Olympic swimmer Tom Dean, who has teamed up with the travel operator and the RLSS UK to launch the initiative, shares his top safety tips for learning how to swim, encouraging more Brits to learn the vital skill
• The free swimming lessons are on offer through Better Leisure Centres nationwide from Monday 30^th June. To claim your spot, visit: https://www.easyjet.com/en/holidays/swim-school

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Britain is facing a swimming crisis with 9 million British adults admitting they don’t know how to swim.

New research from easyJet Holidays has uncovered that half (50%) of those who didn’t learn as a child wanted to, while 42% admit to only staying in the shallow end and 33% now don’t feel confident in the water at all.

While swimming and water safety are now a mandatory part of the national curriculum, one in five Brits were not offered swimming lessons in school and 17% didn’t have a pool in their local area growing up.

Data[1] also shows over 100 publicly accessible pools have closed across the nation over the last 20 years, with the average pool 4.3 miles from Brits’ homes. Some (5%) say their local pool is now more than 10 miles away.

Despite this, 35% of non-swimmers would take up the opportunity to learn as an adult, with many reporting feelings of vulnerability (23%), embarrassment (22%) and self-consciousness (19%) about their inability to swim.

To help encourage adults across the country gain this vital skill, easyJet Holidays has partnered with Olympic swimmer Tom Dean to launch a Swim School and offer free swimming lessons to 1,000 British adults ahead of the summer holidays alongside national swim provider Better and the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK).

Tom Dean, a prominent water safety advocate who has addressed Parliament on the matter, and the RLSS UK share essential water safety tips for those learning to swim. These include pausing before taking the plunge, swimming with a buddy who can assist if needed, staying where your feet can touch the bottom of the pool and if in doubt, float it out.

Top 10 barriers to learning how to swim as children:

1. It wasn’t seen as important (27%)
2. The school didn’t offer a learn to swim programme (24%)
3. Parents couldn’t swim, so they didn’t teach me (24%)
4. Parents didn’t have time to take me to lessons (22%)
5. Bad experience at an early age (21%)
6. No pool nearby (17%)
7. It was viewed as too dangerous (12%)
8. Didn’t have time during school (11%)
9. Learning to swim isn’t part of my culture or religion (7%)
10. It was too expensive (7%)

Almost a third (31%) of parents worry about their children swimming on holiday because they don’t know how to swim themselves, and 32% say they fear they won’t be able to help if something happens to their child in the pool.

The research also uncovered that 17% of Brits are scared to get in the pool while on holiday – with over one in 10 (11%) avoiding a beach holiday completely because they don’t know how to swim.

Additionally, 25% with a lack of swimming ability report it affecting the enjoyment of their holiday, with 18% wishing they could join their children or grandchildren in the pool.

The skills gap could widen in the future as 14% of parents admitting they haven’t enrolled their children in swimming lessons or aren’t planning to teach them themselves, with 20% saying they don’t have the time, 15% citing high costs and 13% believing it is too risky or dangerous.

Tom Dean, Olympic swimmer, says: “As an Olympic swimmer, I know the importance of learning water safety skills and am passionate about ensuring everyone across Britain has access to learn swimming competencies. Whether it’s staying with a buddy, or knowing your limits and sticking to areas where you can stand, it’s never too late to learn how to swim – and thanks to easyJet Holidays Swim School, more people will have access.”

Matt Callaghan, Chief Operating Officer at easyJet Holidays said: “We know that Brits love to enjoy beach holidays to Europe’s most loved destinations over the summer. So uncovering the surprisingly high number of people who can't swim is something we're deeply committed to addressing, not only to improve safety and to ensure everyone can fully enjoy their holiday experiences, but to give them a life skill they can enjoy and rely on for years to come.

 

So we’re thrilled to have partnered with Olympic athlete Tom Dean and the RLSS to offer 1,000 British adults the opportunity to learn to swim. Together we can help bridge the gap and bring this vital skill to a generation who missed out.”

 

The new ‘Swim School’ offer is now available via the easyJet Holidays website, offering six free lessons to 1,000 British adults, available to redeem at the nearest Better Leisure Centre via the Better Swim School programme – with 250 spots being released each week for four weeks, from Monday 30 June.

For more information on Swim School and how to book, please visit https://www.easyjet.com/en/holidays/swim-school

Visit www.easyjet.com/en/holidays to book your 2025/2026 package holiday at the best value.

 

-ENDS-  

For more information, please contact the easyJet Holidays press office on easyjetholidays@taylorherring.com / 020 8206 5151  

About easyJet Holidays:  

easyJet holidays, which launched in 2019, is a leading package holiday provider which operates from the UK, Switzerland, Germany and France. The company took over 2.5 million customers on holiday in 2024. 

Named UK & Ireland Travel Company of the Year 2024, it offers great value beach and city holidays to over 7000 hotels, in more than 100 destinations across Europe and North Africa, directly through its website and through over 7000 travel agent partners. The ATOL-protected holidays can be secured with a deposit of just £60 per person, including flights and accommodation, as well as 23kg luggage and transfers on beach breaks. 

easyJet holidays is a member of ABTA, and all packages are covered by its Ultimate Flexibility, offering freedom to change a booking, a refund guarantee, and best price guarantee. 

Winners of the Sustainable Future Award, easyJet holidays’ sustainability strategy, ‘Holiday Better’, focuses on three key pillars – create better holiday choices by making sustainable travel affordable and accessible to everyone; keep our holidays special by maximising the benefits and minimising the negative impacts of travel and tourism, and transform travel for everyone by embedding sustainability into business decisions and behaviours and driving meaningful change in the industry. The tour operator has partnered with UN Tourism to help develop the first environmental, social and governance (ESG) framework for tourism businesses, co-designing a measurement tool that is meaningful and feasible for better monitoring how tourism businesses impact, and depend on, people, planet and prosperity. 

easyJet holidays was named one of The Sunday Times Best Places to Work in 2023 and 2024.