A popular swimming school, that has taught vital live-saving swimming skills to thousands of Bedford children for over 20 years has been forced to close due to the rising costs of renting a swimming pool for its two hourly sessions each week.
The Edge Swim Gym, commonly known as Edge, which traditionally kept its prices low to help children from low-income families, made the announcement last week to the dismay of the parents of the 120+ children who go there.
In a statement posted on their Facebook group, Edge said that they have had a meeting with Bedford School, which owns the pool they use, to discuss changes to how they hire their pool to external users.
‘They are looking for proposals from pool hirers to work with the school, which is a completely different concept than a straightforward hire. The proposals are to consist of, a profit split of either 50/50 or 60/40, lifeguards to be provided by the hirer and holiday swim schools,’ said the statement.
‘The cost of lessons would probably have to double for me to continue, but I still wouldn’t be able to compete with other swim schools who want to hire the pool 5 days a week and can offer Bedford school a bigger percentage of their profits,’ they added.
Due to this, the owner of Edge has said they can no longer continue to provide the service they have done for over 20 years.
‘Taking all this into consideration I have very reluctantly decided not to proceed, therefore, I am sorry to inform you all that Edge Swim Gym will not be re-opening for lessons’
‘After 20 years of teaching swimming to hundreds of children in Bedford, this has been an extremely difficult decision for me.
‘My view has always been to offer affordable lessons to children, who in my opinion should have the right to learn to swim, and Bedford School’s new plans will no longer enable me to do this.’
‘My sincere apologies and many thanks for the support throughout the years.’
The owner of Edge didn’t want to speak any further on the issue but several parents have expressed their dismay at the decision that has forced a popular swimming school to close, with some asking the Bedford Independent to look into the decision too.
Commenting on social media, one parent said, ‘It’s such a shame that a private school like Bedford can’t continue to support a small local business trying to provide affordable lessons for all. Thank you to you all and I’m really disappointed to read this tonight.’
Another added, ‘This is such sad news. My son and daughter both learnt to swim here and I had just put my granddaughter down to start your lessons here too. You should be so proud to offer such a life skill to all.
‘We loved how reasonable your lessons were especially having two children swimming at the same time. Thank you for teaching my children to be confident and strong swimmers.’
One mum wrote, ‘This is so sad. [You] taught both my boys and restored their confidence after a negative experience with a different swim school. I recommend you all the time even up until a few weeks ago. Such a shame. Thank you and best wishes for the future.’
“Such a shame”
Most of the comments talked about how the school had helped multiple children gain confidence not just in the water but out of it too.
It also helped young adults, who worked as water assistants with the ASA-qualified swimming teachers, giving them a unique chance to gain the experience, confidence and life skills needed for future education and employment opportunities.
Speaking to the Bedford independent, Sarah Stevens, whose son aged 6 was attending Edge, says it’s been a struggle to find a new swimming school for him.
“We haven’t yet found a new club as of yet, although we’ve been looking at options. It looks like it won’t be until the new year now. The prices I have seen are much higher and I suspect for many families that will be difficult.
“That is the argument I have been trying to have, I understand the costs have risen but this ‘review’ shouldn’t be only from a financial perspective, especially for a charity that claims it provides use of these facilities for social welfare purposes.”
She added that her daughter, now 9 years old, has also recently joined the Bedford Swim Squad thanks to what she had learnt at Edge.
Sarah says she has also been in touch with Bedford School and The Harpur Trust, “sadly, without much impact”.
She added, “This is such a shame. The Harpur Trust was set up to benefit all of the children in Bedford and affordable swimming lessons are vital.
“Drowning is still the most common cause of accidental death in children let alone the clear physical and mental health benefits swimming provides. Edge has provided such an amazing swim school.
“I am so disappointed that the charity and school have taken this position – profit over community.”
The Bedford Independent asked Bedford School and The Harpur Trust for a response based on the comments made by parents.
In a joint statement on behalf of Bedford School and The Harpur Trust, a spokesperson said: “The Harpur Trust is a charity which was set up more than 450 years ago to help improve the lives of people in Bedford and we care deeply about all our communities.
“The endowment left by Sir William Harpur is used to fund our community work to help nurture potential and only charitable organisations are eligible for grant funding from The Harpur Trust.
“The decision to change the way we work with the Edge Swim Club was made as part of our ongoing commitment to regularly review our contracts to ensure optimal use of our sporting and performing arts facilities, for our schools and the wider Bedford community.
“We value our strong partnerships with various community groups, which we support both financially and through the dedicated volunteering of our pupils and staff.
“Maximising the use of our facilities can mean making difficult decisions with some of our long-term hirers, but there will still be swim schools able to utilise the facilities going forward, which children of all backgrounds are able to benefit from.”
