Plymouth College Aquatics

Plymouth College offers one of the UK’s leading school based swimming programmes. Enabling talented athletes from all around the world to achieve exceptional results in the pool, along with an excellent education. An integrated approach supports each athlete through a successful programme established over two decades.

High Performance Swim Programme

Our nationally acclaimed Performance Swimming Programme attracts dedicated young athletes from across the UK and internationally. We provide a unique environment where intensive, high-level swim training is seamlessly integrated with a first-class academic education, ensuring neither is compromised. Pupils can achieve their full potential both in their studies and as competitive swimmers.

This commitment to balancing rigorous training with academic achievement has earned our programme recognition from the National Association for Gifted Children. To support aspiring athletes, bursaries and swimming scholarships may be available and are considered on an individual basis, helping make this exceptional opportunity accessible.

Integrated Athlete Support

We provide an unparalleled, holistic support system tailored to the needs of high-performing young swimmers. This includes comfortable boarding accommodation and carefully planned nutrition designed to fuel athletic performance and recovery. Our extensive support staff features specialists in strength and conditioning, sports nutrition, physiotherapy, chiropractic care, sports psychology and sports science, all dedicated to optimising each pupil’s development.

Furthermore, our flexible learning programmes are a cornerstone of this support. They are specifically designed to accommodate demanding training schedules, allowing athletes to manage their academic studies at a pace that complements their commitments in the pool, ensuring they can flourish in all areas.

World Class Training Environment

Our swimmers benefit from access to exceptional training facilities. This includes the 10-lane 50m and 6-lane 25m pools at the Plymouth Life Centre, our own 5-lane 25m pool on the school campus. This extensive access underpins a comprehensive training schedule.

The programme offers 30 hours of high-performance swimming each week, strategically spread across 12 sessions held before, during and immediately after the school day. An additional 90 hours of swimming across the year complements this, creating one of the UK’s most thorough pool programmes. Essential land-based strength and conditioning work takes place in our on-site suite.

Values & Character Building

At Plymouth College, our Performance Swimming Programme aims to develop more than just faster swimmers and academically successful pupils; it focuses on instilling lifelong values. We believe these principles are crucial for becoming well-rounded young people, prepared for challenges both within and beyond the sporting arena.

Qualities such as team spirit, unwavering respect, self-discipline, compassion for others, excellent organisation and effective decision making under pressure are actively taught and reinforced daily. We also cultivate attention to detail, humility in success and a profound commitment to goals, shaping individuals who will benefit from this holistic development throughout their lives.

Pathway To Excellence

Our swim programme is structured for long-term athlete development, allowing individuals to join Plymouth College at a young age and remain part of this supportive system up to and potentially beyond, their school years. This provides invaluable consistency in coaching as they transition into university or post-18 careers. This sustained approach has consistently welcomed day and boarding pupils who have progressed to become Olympic and World champions, as well as World, European and Commonwealth record holders and medallists.

The programme ensures regular international selections for Great Britain and home nations’ swim teams and facilitates international success for athletes from many overseas nations. Esteemed alumni include Ruta Meilutyte, Ben Proud, Laura Stephens and many others, highlighting our proud legacy.