Free Swimming for Under 16s

With Cllr John Hannides at the Quays

Last week Southampton City Council announced that it was pushing ahead with a two year scheme for free under 16s swimming. A deal was struck with local schools (including our two new city academies) and the Primary Care Trust to find the extra money needed to meet the shortfall in government funding for the scheme. Funds from the government will meet less than a third of the cost, meaning that locally we have to pick the rest of the bill.

I am delighted that working with other partners in city we have managed deliver the scheme. Sport is high on the agenda with the Olympics fast approaching. Locally we are doing all we can to meet the challenge. The under 16s scheme comes on top of a similar scheme announced last year for over 60s and our schools sports partnership with Southampton Solent University which is already proving a tremendous success.