Swimming

Our superb Aquatics Centre is a hive of activity in the summer terms and our Olympic-size, solar-heated pool has made it possible for many girls to participate in various aquatics activities simultaneously. Swimming is taken seriously at St Mary’s, as we feel that it is a life skill that needs to be mastered at an early age.

Once a week, in the mornings, children in Grade 00 have fun morning lessons. Many staff members are in the pool with the children at any given time and this programme has been an outstanding success. We encourage parents to have their children swimming, or at least water-safe, by the time they enter Grade 0.

All Senior and Junior Primary girls take part in swimming during their morning physical education lessons, and the team swimmers have two co-curricular slots per week. We offer swimming for non-team girls who wish to improve their stroke technique and fitness. At the end of the first and third terms respectively, every girl in Senior and Junior Primary takes part in the inter-house gala.

There are four Junior School teams at St Mary’s, allowing more than 150 girls to compete for their school every Friday afternoon. The girls participate competitively from Grade 3.

In the Senior School, we have A and B swimming teams, with a short but busy season at the beginning of each year.

The three main events on the swimming calendar each year are the Summer Splash (hosted by St Mary’s), the National Aquatics Festival, and the pair of inter-high galas: the A team competes in the Premier gala and the B team in the A gala. St Mary’s emerged victorious at both these events in 2023 and 2024.