Yanchep students hit Yanchep Lagoon for swimming lessons for 22nd year

YANCHEP students have been taking part in swimming lessons at Yanchep Lagoon for 22 years.

Yanchep Lagoon Primary School deputy principal Delva Russell said the school, formerly part of Yanchep District High School, continued its annual lessons at the lagoon this term.

Mrs Russell said the school held the lessons over two weeks at the start of each school year through the Education Department’s swimming and water safety program.

“These in-term lessons are run at all metropolitan aquatic leisure centres and some swimming pools,” she said.

“They are also run at some beaches with Yanchep Lagoon being one of them.”

Mrs Russell said historically, swimming lessons had been in Yanchep National Park.

“Originally Yanchep District High School had swimming lessons at the pool in the national park,” she said.

“Then we could not attend on their cleaning day so we attended the lagoon on that day.

“When the pool at the national park closed in 1996, we began attending the beach for all the lessons.

“This year is our 22nd year that the primary school has had lessons at the lagoon.”

Mrs Russell said the lagoon was ideal as children needed to learn to swim in conditions they were most likely to encounter.

“We all live right next to the lagoon,” she said.

“The kids learn to cope in that environment; how to deal with the ocean itself; learn what can be in the ocean and how to stay away from it.

“Learning to swim in a pool is totally different.”

Last month the Times reported that the City of Wanneroo was looking at bringing plans for a public pool in the north coast area forward from the proposed construction timeframe of 2042-46.

Mayor Tracey Roberts highlighted challenges some schools faced taking children to swimming lessons when giving her motion on notice to add a recreational and aquatic facility to the City’s advocacy program.

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