From Poolside to Swimming Lessons: Aghogho’s Family Swimming Story
Learning to swim can help you feel more confident in the water and create opportunities to enjoy time with your family. For Aghogho, it meant moving from watching his children’s lessons to sharing the experience with them. His story is one of three featured in the latest wave of Swim England’s #LoveSwimming campaign, which celebrates swimming pools as welcoming community spaces where people of every age, ability and background belong.
Taking the first step
Every Tuesday, Aghogho could be found sitting in the gallery at Plymouth Life Centre, watching his children take part in their swimming lessons. His son, Arnold, has progressed from Stage 2 to Stage 5, while his daughter, Michelle, who has been swimming for three years, is now thriving in Stage 8 and already looking ahead to the future. For two years, Aghogho cheered them on from the sidelines, encouraging them to develop a vital life skill. But although he loved being around water, he had never learnt to swim himself. Eventually, he began to wonder why he should only watch.
“I always pushed them,” he explains. “And I thought it’s not fair pushing them to do this thing when I sit back and not be an example to them.”
At the age of 42, he decided to join our adult swimming lessons, attending his first beginner lesson in November 2025. For Aghogho, it was a chance to take on a personal challenge, lead by example and work towards enjoying swimming together as a family.
Finding enjoyment in learning
Starting something new as an adult can feel daunting, but Aghogho approached his first lessons with enthusiasm.
“I love the water naturally. I loved playing in water, but I couldn’t swim. I was just excited to take up the challenge.”
He found enjoyment in each stage of learning without putting pressure on himself to progress quickly.
“I wasn’t pushing myself too much. I was happy enjoying the process and learning from when I was in Stage 1 to Stage 2.”
His experience reflects a central message of the #LoveSwimming campaign: everyone has a different starting point, and learning to swim can begin at any age.
A shared family experience
Swimming has now become something Aghogho, Michelle and Arnold can share, with encouragement now flowing in both directions. Recalling the moment he told his children that he was starting lessons, Aghogho says:
“I think Michelle said ‘Dad you can do it you can do it!’ and Arnold said, ‘you can do it dad’.”
His children have since become some of his biggest supporters, watching his lessons and sharing what they have learnt.
“Sometimes they watch me swim and after we go in the pool and I show them what I’ve learnt. I’m learning from my teacher and learning from my kids as well, which is interesting.”
For Michelle, comparing their experiences is part of what makes swimming together special.
“When he’s done swimming, we are exchanging things that we did in lessons and we’re like ‘oh what did you do’ ‘oh I did this’ ‘oh that’s really cool’ and then I say what I did, that’s really fun, just telling each other what we did.”
Arnold agrees:
“We get to review what each of us are doing. We also get to watch him on his lessons so we can tell him how to improve.”
They are not alone in finding that swimming brings them closer. New Swim England research found that more than 8 in 10 parents say that swimming with their children makes them feel closer as a family. More than half of parents say watching their child learn inspired them to learn to swim themselves, whilst seven in 10 adults who learnt to swim later in life describe it as one of their proudest achievements.
A place for everyone
Launched by Swim England and leading leisure operators, the latest #LoveSwimming campaign features three swimmers whose stories reflect the different barriers that can stop someone from taking their first strokes in the water. Whether someone wants to join in with their family, build confidence, or try something new, the campaign highlights the role pools play in helping people connect and enjoy being active.
Chloe, our Head of Aquatics, said:
“Supporting Aghogho and his family throughout their learn-to-swim journey has been a pleasure. The progress he has achieved in such a short time highlights the dedication he has shown to gaining confidence in the water and enjoying swimming with his family. His experience is a powerful example that learning to swim has no age limit and reinforces the importance of this vital life skill for people of all ages in Britain’s Ocean City.”
This message is echoed by Jenny McAneny-Vincent, Swim England’s Head of Aquatics Competency, who said:
“Swimming pools are so much more than places to swim. They are community hubs where people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds can come together, connect and enjoy being active.”
“We know that for some people, getting into the water can feel like a big step. Whether it’s a lack of confidence, a disability or health condition, or simply not knowing where to start, everyone’s journey is different.”
“Across the country, pools offer welcoming environments, supportive sessions and opportunities for people to enjoy the water in a way that works for them. That’s why there’s never been a better time to give swimming a go.”
“Learning to swim isn’t a race. It’s a personal journey that can begin at any age, so why not take that first step and discover everything swimming has to offer?”
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