Pop-up pool in playground helping pupils to swim

Pupils said they had previously missed swimming lessons due to their coach breaking down

A pop-up pool has been installed in a school playground to help more children learn to swim.

Sir Alexander Fleming Primary School in Sutton Hill, Telford, has installed the temporary pool to give more pupils access to swimming lessons.

The school said it would give students better quality lessons as it takes 40 minutes to travel to a public pool which eats into class time.

"We need them to leave school confident swimmers," teacher Emily Brown said.

Ms Brown said many children had never been swimming before.

"If anything ever did happen, they have the skills to get themselves safe and out of any water if they needed to," she added.

The pool will be at the school for five weeks

The pool provides 45-minute lessons for 10 children with one instructor and there are pods outside the marquee for them to get changed in.

The school would have provided lessons for year five and six anyway, but with the pool in the playground it can now start teaching the children in the younger years, starting with year three.

• Hear on BBC Sounds from the pupils set to benefit from the playground pool

One pupil said it was "extraordinary" to have a pool in the playground.

"Sometimes the bus broke down to the leisure centre and we couldn't go swimming," he added.

The pool inside the marquee is hired for five weeks and hopes to be an annual scheme

Year five student Raya was also happy about not having to travel on a coach.

She said her swimming lesson was "amazing".

The school have hired the pool for five weeks and hope it becomes an annual scheme.

Next year, they want to provide it for children aged from year one to year three.

Headteacher Katy Tomlinson and year six teacher Emily Brown want the children to be confident swimmers