School Aged

Building a Foundation of

Confidence for a Lifetime of Safety

Our School-Aged program helps children aged from their first day of kindergarten through to 12 years deepen their water confidence and develop strong, safe swimming skills in a supportive, ability-based environment.

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A Structured, Confidence-Building Swim Journey

Our School-Aged program focuses on building water confidence, foundational swim skills, and technique in small, ability-matched classes. Children progress through engaging, 30-minute lessons that balance fun with purposeful learning. Every activity is designed to help your child feel more capable and confident in the water while developing skills that support lifelong water safety.

Ability-Based Grouping

Children are placed in classes based on their current swimming ability — not just age — so they learn with peers at similar stages. This supports confidence, comfort and steady progress.

Progressive Skill Development

Through play-based activities and structured skill work, children build flotation, propulsion, breath control and eventually coordinate movements into basic freestyle, backstroke and beyond.

Supportive, Fun Environment

Our experienced instructors create engaging lessons where children feel encouraged, safe and excited to learn. Confidence grows alongside skill at every stage.

The Aquatots School-Aged Swimming Lessons program welcomes children from their first exciting day of kindergarten through to 12 years of age.

We create a supportive environment where every swimmer can flourish. We group children by swimming ability, not just age.

This way, each child learns with peers who have similar skills and confidence. Our program has improved over the years.

We teach children to use their natural buoyancy. This helps them build real confidence in the water.


We recognise that every child brings their own unique pace and learning style to the pool. Our award-winning instructors create each session to maximise your child's swimming time.

They create momentum that leads to steady, satisfying progress.

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Dolphins 1

Ages 5 to 12 years

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  • Dolphin 1 welcomes school age children who are taking their first steps into the aquatic world.

    This level helps everyone, even those with little or no water experience. It builds real water confidence and teaches them to trust their natural ability to float. 


    Our approach centres around your child's needs, helping them develop both love and respect for the water. Every activity aims to make learning fun. They also build skills that can be very useful in life.


    Children graduate from Dolphin 1 when they can float on their front and back confidently, without help and self rescue on the wall after they jump in.


    Each class runs for 30 minutes of focused, engaging instruction.

Dolphins 2

Ages 5 to 12 years

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  • Dolphin 2 swimmers have mastered unassisted floating on both front and back, and they're ready for the thrill of moving through water.

    This level teaches kids about propulsion. They learn effective kicking techniques and underwater pulling movements. Also, they explore the basics of controlled breathing.


    We introduce all four strokes at once. This lets each child show their natural strengths. Some kids surprise themselves by loving strokes they didn’t expect. We support every swimming style at this key stage.


    To graduate from Dolphin 2, kids must swim confidently on their front. They should roll smoothly to their back while using proper breathing. Finally, they need to move on their back with control. Basic survival backstroke is also a requirement to graduate from this level


    These dynamic 30 minute sessions keep children engaged and progressing.

Dolphins 3

Ages 5 to 12 years

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  • Dolphin 3 celebrates kids who have strong breath control.

    They can swim confidently on their front and back. This exciting level introduces the fundamental techniques for freestyle, backstroke, butterfly and breaststroke.


    Your child will discover how to coordinate arm and leg movements into fluid swimming motions. We encourage strong arm strokes. They help create smooth, efficient movement in the water. This is key to confident swimming.


    Graduation from Dolphin 3 occurs when kids can swim basic freestyle using rolling breath and backstroke with a good body roll. They also need to jump in and perform a self-rescue onto their back. Natural breaststrokers will showcase their breaststroke skills as part of graduation requirements.


    Each engaging 30 minute class builds skills progressively.

Dolphins 4 & Mini Dolphin 4's

Ages 5 to 12 years (mini's) 7-12 years

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  • Dolphin 4 welcomes children aged 7 to 12 years who've mastered basic freestyle and backstroke.

    This level refines their technique. It introduces proper side breathing and polishes their backstroke to competition standards.


    Natural breaststrokers will perfect their timing at this stage. We continue developing breaststroke and butterfly for all students. This prepares them for the final levels of our comprehensive program.


    Mini Dolphin 4 creates a special space for our 5 to 7 year old swimmers who've reached this skill level. Younger achievers learn with peers their age. This helps them feel comfortable and grow better. When Mini Dolphin swimmers turn 7 and haven't met graduation requirements, they easily move to the Dolphin 4 group. This way, they can keep learning with kids their age.


    Graduation needs you to show good technique in freestyle and backstroke at the right distances. If you are a natural breaststroker, you must also perfect your timing over distance.


    These skill-building 30-minute sessions create confident, capable swimmers and form an important part of our School Aged Swimming Lessons program.

Is Our School-Aged Program Right for Your Child?

This program is ideal for:

  • Children aged 5–12 years who are ready to build water confidence and swim skills in a structured class.

  • Families who want progression that matches their child’s ability, not just age.

  • Parents seeking a supportive environment where their child learns at their pace and gains real water skills for life.

This program may not be the right fit for:

  • Families expecting performance-focused high-pressure training.

  • Children not yet comfortable in water without support (we can help place them in the right starting program first).

Aquatots Dolphins Programs

Your Questions Answered

  • What age should my child start?

    Our School-Aged program welcomes children from their first day of kindergarten up to 12 years.

  • What skills will they learn?

    Children begin with flotation, basic propulsive skills, and breath control before progressing into coordinated movements for freestyle and backstroke. Later levels introduce all four strokes and refine technique.

  • How are classes structured?

    Lessons are 30 minutes long and grouped by ability so each child learns with peers at similar stages, helping confidence and progression.

  • What do I need to bring to class?

    Bring your child’s goggles, swimwear, towel, and any preferred swim accessories. We’ll provide teaching equipment as needed.

Give Your Child the Gift of a Lifetime of Water Safety

Take the next step in your child’s swimming and water confidence journey. Contact our friendly team to learn more about our School-Aged program or to book a gentle assessment. We can’t wait to support your child in the water!

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