One in four children leaves primary school unable to swim as child deaths double

A leading Oxford academic argues that every child should prove swimming ability before finishing primary school after analysis shows a national shortfall in water skills and rising drownings. Professor Carl Heneghan of Oxford's Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine notes that more than one in four children leave primary school unable to swim 25 metres unaided, and 11 drownings occurred during Britain's May heatwave. The study frames these deaths as part of a national 'swimming crisis' and a public health priority. It finds 35% of children from low-income families cannot swim 25 metres, while an estimated 14 million UK adults also lack this ability. Heneghan argues that swimming is a compulsory curriculum item and a life-saving skill, yet provision remains inconsistent, leaving a sizeable minority without essential training in water safety. During Britain's heatwave, drownings included Junior Slater, 12, who died after difficulties in the River Ribble in Lancashire; Reco Pinnock, 13, at Leadbeater Dam in Yorkshire; Declan Sawyer, 15, at Swanholme Lakes in Lincolnshire; Lillianna Tomlinson, 16, at Kingsbury Water Park in Warwickshire; and Baltazar L'Quy, 14, in the River Thames in Oxfordshire. He calls for urgent policy reforms to ensure early, sustained access to swimming lessons and better open-water safety education.