Every summer the children enjoy swimming in the school swimming pool. The pool is not run by the school, but by a small band of parent volunteers. If you would like your children to continue to benefit from the pool then YOUR CHILDREN NEED YOU TO GET INVOLVED.
Two of the pool management team (of three) are leaving. Pauline runs the chemical side of things, and deals with the policies and procedures that are required. Pauline’s youngest child is leaving the school this year and it is time for her to retire. Claire, who manages the accounts, is also stepping down at the end of this summer after a five-year stint.
Without a chemical team leader and treasurer, the pool cannot operate.
We would like to recruit replacements for our roles this year – so that we have a chance to show them how the pool is run. We will start preparing the pool at Easter – it has to be emptied, cleaned, painted and refilled – and can show exactly what needs doing. We need volunteers to help with pool preparation as well as with chemicals. We will organise training to show people how to test the water and keep it sparkly.
When we joined the pool committee five years ago, the previous committee had gone, and we were quite literally dropped in at the deep end (pun intended). We have no intention of putting our replacements through the same difficulties. We’ve worked incredibly hard to ensure the pool is an efficient and safe operation, backed up by the necessary policies, and we are proud to leave that as our legacy.
We need to find our replacements NOW so that we can pass on our knowledge and the school can plan for the coming academic year. If we don’t have our replacements in place by September, there will be no school swimming in 2015.
If you think you could help, please talk to us to find out about what’s involved or come to our AGM. As every year, we also need volunteers to supervise swimming sessions after school and during the holidays. Whether you can do a little or a lot, it all counts. Many hands make light work, as they say! When the sun shines and the children have a fabulous time swimming, it is extremely rewarding.
The Annual General Meeting of the Friends of Northleach Swimming Pool takes place at 8pm on Monday 28th April in the Westwoods Centre. Please support us!
We would like to thank all of those who have volunteered and supported the pool in recent years. There are too many to mention, but it includes lifeguards, helpers and chemical testers. We are particularly grateful to the fundraising team of Rosie Moser, Caroline Holmes and Alex Poole, who have done an amazing job. It costs around £5,000 each year to run the pool, and they have made this possible. They plan to continue with their fundraising activities, and we can’t thank them enough!
Pauline Rigby & Claire Burditt
pauline.anne.rigby@gmail.com 861821
claire@burdittfamily.co.uk 861088
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Northleach has an open air swimming pool, which is ideal for helping young children gain confidence in the water. Located next to Northleach Primary School, the pool is open from the end of May. Friends of Northleach Swimming Pool manages the pool and raises the money needed to keep it going.