Centre In The Swim

STAFF at Littlehampton Swimming and Sports Centre were delighted when the Swimming Teachers Association made them a centre of excellence on Wednesday.

The association had no hesitation in rewarding the centre s high standards of teaching and facilities with this superb accolade.

Swimming Teachers Association development officer Dave Perry was full of praise for the centre, saying it was one of the best he had visited.

"I have always been more than impressed with the standards here at Littlehampton and have found they have consistently exceeded our standards."

Dave Candler, who works as the centre s development officer, was clearly overjoyed with the award and said it was the result of many years of hard work from him and his dedicated team of colleagues.

"The hard work has really paid off. It s a nice feeling to be given this award and we are all really pleased," he said.

The centre trains swimming teachers from all over the Arun area and offers an extensive programme of first aid and life- saving courses for emergency services personnel.

In addition, the centre offers swimming lessons for people of all ages and Mr Perry was particularly impressed with the teaching rota, which aims to keep pupils with the same teacher each week.

"That way, pupils build up a rapport with their teacher rather than seeing a different face each week. It s details such as this which make all the difference," he added.