Roedean School SA saves lives one swimmer at a time

Roedean School SA confirmed its collaboration with Barnato Park High School to empower children from under-resourced communities with essential swimming skills.

Through the Learn-To-Swim (LTS) Programme, learners will continue to receive instruction in water safety principles, fostering both competitive swimming abilities and talent identification.

The school’s head of sport Marcel Lamont emphasised the critical importance of addressing water-related risks hence giving the LTS Programme the priority that it deserves. “We recognise the prevalence of water-related dangers in South Africa and believe in implementing tangible solutions,” said Lamont.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), drowning ranks among the top ten causes of death for individuals aged 1-24 worldwide, with over 2.5 million preventable deaths in the past decade alone.

Lamont added that the school considered swimming an important life skill, “Too many lives, especially children’s lives, are lost due to inadequate swimming abilities. By partnering with schools we aim to mitigate unintentional drowning incidents.”

The school actively participates in the Water Polo Prestige Cup, where the top ten Gauteng First Team Water Polo teams go head-to-head for the honour of winning the Prestige Cup. Additionally, the schools that participate are encouraged to partner with an under-resourced school and make their swimming facilities available for the Learn-To-Swim programme.

The primary aim of the competition is not so much rooted in sporting success but aims to drive community development and partnerships. The school’s other long-term goal is to ensure that the tournament is positioned as one of the best water polo tournaments hosted in Gauteng and has a proven sustainable impact on both sports’ transformation and water safety.

Head of senior school at Roedean Annabel Roberts said, “We are committed to fostering a culture of water safety to prevent tragic drowning incidents and our goal is to realise the WHO slogan ‘Anyone can drown, no one should’.”

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