Mansfield double Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington is urging schools in Nottinghamshire to take advantage of a £1m funding investment pot to maintain and keep swimming pool or dry side facilities open.

Rebecca, who won a total of four Olympic swimming medals, has launched The Movement Project after data showed that one in three children leave primary school unable to swim 25 metres.

Rebecca says that number may be far higher due to the rising trend for school pool closures.

The Movement Project is an initiative from Total Swimming Academies and Vivify Venues, which are offering schools a £1million investment fund to help them keep swimming facilities open. The funds can be used for a range of maintenance works including new changing room facilities, viewing galleries, pool plant works or to build a reception area.

The Movement Project will also support schools in managing facility operations to ensure school pool and dry side facilities stay open outside of school hours to help the local community.

Adlington said: “The reason school pools are important is because their main priority is national curriculum swimming. They’re absolutely fundamental to achieving national curriculum swim targets, and equipping children with the basic skill set they need, when they leave for secondary school.

“Research has shown that if children don’t learn to swim in primary school, then they never will. It’s very worrying that we are seeing so many pools close, many of which are in deprived areas. Families rely on them, if they don’t have access to school pool facilities then we are going to see the number of children unable to swim rise rapidly.

Adlington is asking schools to make swimming a priority because it’s a lifesaving skill.

She said large new facilities were great for communities, but smaller, less fancy pools were also important.

“The whole community needs to have access to a pool and not have to travel 30 minutes or more to get there,” she added.

To learn more about the funding, visit https://www.totalswimming.co.uk/the-movement-project