Syrian Families dive into swimming lessons

Up to 50 Syrian families are getting in the swim of things through a community project at The Royal High Community Sports Hub in west Edinburgh.

Funding from the GO LIVE! Get

Active Fund, a £250,000 Scottish Government initiative which supports more than 90 community sports projects, is helping inactive women and families learn how to swim and promote integration in the area.

The Welcoming, a charity that delivers educational and social integration programmes across Edinburgh to migrants, refugees and minority ethnic communities, and Edinburgh Leisure, identified a group of 50 local women and their families as looking to take part in swimming in a women-only environment in the area.

The programme is claimed to have had hugely positive results beyond teaching participants the basics of swimming with

90% of participants saying they met new people, while 80% said they had improved their English as a result of the initiative. Two thirds of participants said the programme had helped to improve their confidence, allowing them to integrate better into their community.

The Welcoming’s health and wellbeing coordinator, Louise Turner, said: "These safe and supportive swim sessions provide the women and children with a space to access culturally appropriate leisure facilities, form friendships and practice their English."

As part of the project's funding, five young female volunteers from local schools and sports clubs were put through their level 1 swim teacher and National Pool