More than 38,000 children were taught to swim at 82 swimming pools and clubs across the South East as part of our Learn to Swim scheme.

With more than 700 miles of coastline bordering our region, we believe it’s important that children learn to swim.

Our award-winning scheme, which has benefited more than half a million children, will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2012.

Olympic gold medallist Duncan Goodhew MBE supports Learn to Swim and presented awards to 59 children for overcoming difficulties or for exceptional performance. The awards were presented at ceremonies at Testwood Lakes in Hampshire and Bewl Water on the Kent/Sussex boundary.

Reigning Paralympic and world champion swimmer Sascha Kindred OBE is a new supporter of the scheme and began writing a blog for our Learn to Swim website.

During the year, we also published a Learn to Swim comic, which is given to every child who joins the scheme. It includes safety information, quizzes and stories.

Three new swimming pools and clubs joined the scheme in 2010-11: Beachfields in Sheerness, Kent; Dapper Snappers in Worthing, West Sussex; and HMS Collingwood in Portsmouth.

Learn to Swim is sponsored by 4Delivery, Morrison Utility Services, Clancy Docwra and BTU and supported by Berwin Leighton Paisner, Atkins and Mott MacDonald.