The Greater Manchester high school where pupils have their own swimming pool

While many schools are having to cut back on swimming lessons because of the hike in costs, pupils at one Greater Manchester secondary have the luxury of their own pool.

Westhoughton High School, in Bolton, is attached to the local leisure centre, which means the kids get to use it for swimming lessons and, at certain times of the year, a free after school swim club on a Friday.

Headteacher Neil Coe said having such easy access to the pool is a 'huge benefit' and a price worth paying.

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Sharing the heating costs with the leisure centre, it doesn't come cheap, but it means the school or families don't have to pay for kids to be transported to another site.

"It is a pretty big cost, especially at the moment," said Mr Coe. "But the pool is ours during the day and all learners in Key Stage 3 access a term of swimming lessons each year. It’s a really important part of the PE curriculum.

"Local primaries use it for swimming during the day too. Most of our swimming is during the lent term, but we certainly use it and value it."

The Department for Education says that all schools must provide swimming lessons in Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2) or Key Stage 2 (Years 3 to 6). Few high schools are able to incorporate swimming into their timetables as it's unusual to have a pool on site.

Mr Coe says having it so readily available has also helped staff to reinforce the message of water safety among the young people.

"Water safety for young people is such an issue, especially during the summer months," he said. "With open water nearby in the town its really important that all of our