Tom Dean, a triple gold medal winning Olympian and Strictly Come Dancing star, visited York on Friday ahead of a branch of his Swim School opening its doors at the Mount School in April.
The Tom Dean Swim School was founded four months ago and is set to offer a new and innovative approach to swimming lessons with a curriculum designed by Tom himself, Olympian Adrian Moorhouse, and a specialist team that focuses on life saving skills and safety around bodies of water.
As the first northern school in the programme, York was chosen in part due to the team’s personal connections with the city and its proximity to a large body of water – the River Ouse.
Tom explained: “Water safety is a really big part of this for me – I grew up by a river, the Thames, just outside of London and we do live on an island at the end of the day.
“Water is probably one of the biggest dangers to a child’s life, you’ve got cars and road safety then water as well, so we want every one of our children when they leave our school definitely to be water safe.
“Once you get a kid in water and they’re comfortable and can get their face under the water and they can get themselves into a safe position then that’s the most important thing.
RECOMMENDED READING:
- 'He’s a good climber and a good person' - York's Hamish in Olympic gold bid
- Olympics day four: Tom Dean leads relay team as GB look to extend gold rush
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