Cardiff: Just 16% of city's children can swim, Swim Wales data shows

A leisure manager in Cardiff says she is "saddened" by figures showing just 16% of children in Cardiff can swim.

The city is the worst performing area in Wales for children learning to swim, according to data from Swim Wales and Cardiff Metropolitan University.

Only 57% of the city's primary schools provided swimming lessons last year.

Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) partnership manager Joanne Smith said it was now working with other swimming providers to improve access.

Cardiff's figures are significantly lower than the Welsh average, which is 41%.

In reference to Cardiff's swimming figures, Ms Smith told a Cardiff council committee: "I find it quite hard to understand".

GLL, which runs leisure centres in Cardiff, wants to boost use during quieter periods.

Ms Smith said GLL, Cardiff Metropolitan University and the international pool in Cardiff Bay provided school swimming lessons to Cardiff schools, with the Urdd providing swimming lessons in Welsh.

She told Cardiff council's economy and culture scrutiny committee meeting on Tuesday: "We had a meeting about three weeks ago in regards to what we can do. We were all agreed that we want to get the numbers of children in school swimming up.

"It doesn't help that the curriculum has changed and it no longer states that children have to learn to swim. 

"However, that is the same for all of Wales."

Data collated by GLL shows membership has increased across all its leisure centres between March 2023 and March 2024. 

But numbers are down at a number of locations in Cardiff compared with 2019 figures.

Maindy Centre has seen the biggest dip since 2019 with 820 fewer members, followed by Llanishen Leisure Centre with a drop of 545 members.

Council member Catriona Brown-Reckless said she was "shocked" by the figures and added she would like to see more people using leisure centres in Cardiff.

"I think it [swimming] is such an important thing that children get to do… could more be done with local schools to get more children in the pools during term time as part of their… curriculum?"

Ms Smith added: "In Cardiff the way school swimming is delivered is different.

"We have ourselves, GLL, as a provider. We also have the international pool which provides school swimming lessons to Cardiff schools. We also have Cardiff Met and the Urdd… all of us providers are sat around the table.

"We had a meeting about three weeks ago in regards to what we can do. We were all agreed that we want to get the numbers of children in school swimming up."