Children make a splash as part of Mayor of London campaign

Primary school pupils in the borough made a splash this morning, in the presence of an Olympic swimming star.

The pupils, at Preston Park Primary School in College Road, Wembley, were delighted to welcome former world number one swimmer Melanie Marshall to give the seal of approval to a temporary swimming pool which has been installed at the school.

The pool was launched as part of the Make a Splash campaign, part of the Mayor of London’s Olympic Legacy Programme designed to ensure Londoners benefit from inspirational sport projects.

Around 1,000 local children are expected to be taught how to swim while hundreds of additional special swimming lessons will take place in the pool over a three month period.

It is hoped that this will help local children achieve the National Curriculum target of learning to swim 25m unaided by the time they leave primary school.

Six time Commonwealth Games medal winner, Melanie, who featured in two Olympic Games is now retired but she explained the importance of swimming in schools.

She said: “Swimming is an important life skill that all children should learn while having lots of fun in the process.”

Head Teacher at Preston Park Primary School, John Redpath, said: “This is the second time in the past 3 years that we have had a mobile pool at the school. This time the project is even bigger and better.”

The project has received funding support from Brent Council and NHS Brent, with the aim of encouraging more local people to get active and the pool will remain at the school until March 31.

Outside of school hours the pool will offer a range of activities for the general public. For further information visit: www.makeasplashlondon.org.