The Monthly | Raksim
Research by Royal Life Saving Australia shows that “children from more advantaged socio-economic areas represent the majority of children attending private swimming lessons, and they begin doing so at a younger age compared to children from lower socio-economic areas”. As noted in the RLSA’s 2024 National Drowning Report, swimming skills appear to be going backwards, and there is evidence these are nationally at their worst since investments in school-based swimming programs in the 1960s and 1970s. For those who come from families with the means, learning to swim, like learning to read, confers lifelong benefits.