Academy Sport - Swimming
Swimming at Reed’s is offered to pupils in every year group as part of their Physical Education lessons or, for older pupils, as one of their games afternoon options.
We want to ensure that every pupil is a competent swimmer and can enjoy regular participation in this sport. We have an excellent five lane, 25 metre indoor pool with diving blocks, available for use by squad members for training throughout the week.
After the launch of our Swimming Academy in September 2022, Reed’s is fast becoming recognised as one of the top swimming schools in the country with teams from U12 to U18 level. The Swimming Academy operates as a Swim England registered club to offer the athletes year-round training and access to ‘Club’ competitions. There is a fee for being a member of the Swimming Academy, to cover the out-of-school-hours training, pool hire and extra coaching, as would be payable if swimming for a local club. Elite swimmers can also benefit from strength and conditioning training as part of our High Performance Programme along with expert coaching and training.
Ex-Olympian Craig Gibbons joined Reed’s as Head Coach in 2022; he has continued to build on the success of swimming at Reed’s. Craig has an illustrious swimming background, having competed for Great Britain in the London 2012 Olympics. He previously held the British record for the men's 100-metre freestyle and was part of four relay teams that also broke British records. He competed at major meets for over 10 years and remains one of the fastest British swimmers ever. Craig has coached at a number of clubs in both Dubai and Malta, and most recently at Natare in West London and City of Oxford.
Academy swimmers represent Reed’s at a number of local, regional and national events, with recent success achieved at the Southeast Winter Championships, the Scottish Nationals and the British Championships.
School squads compete in regular galas throughout the year with a fixture list against many other schools as well as county and national competitions. Along with regular success in the Surrey Relay and Individual Competitions, Reed's were also GB Independent Schools' Champions in the Boys 4 x 100m freestyle relay, beating favourites, Royal Belfast Academic Institute, in the finals of the Bath Cup in 2016. In 2022 the girls squad won both silver and bronze medals in the Medley and Freestyle Relays in the Fred Parkes Cup and RL Stead Cup. In the 2023 Surrey Individuals, swimmers from Reed's broke a number of the Surrey records.
