School still making a splash after 30 years

A family-run swim school in Broom is celebrating 30 years in business with a 12-hour charity swim this autumn.

Broom Swim School, one of the first private swim schools in the country, was established as an outdoor swim school in June 1986 and has evolved into a thriving hub within the community.

To celebrate its milestone birthday the pool, which is based in the gardens of The Grange, will host the swim day in aid of the Cure Parkinsons Trust, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Sands on 3 September.

The business was established by lifelong swimmer Sallie Walters after she gained the necessary teaching qualifications with the support of her parents David and Gillian.

In 2013 Sallie’s daughter Alice joined the school, becoming the third generation of the family to be part of the business.

Back in 1986 customers had to dash across a lawn from the wooden shed changing rooms, to the warm water of the pool.

Later on the pool was enclosed within its own building and has gone from strength to strength ever since.

The school caters for swimmers of all ages from toddlers to adults, while it also provides a venue for leisure and sponsored swims, which have raised thousands for charity over the years.

Around 400 swimmers per week currently use the pool and over years thousands have passed through its doors.

Sallie said: “I never thought when I started this business that we would still be going 30 years later. I was very lucky because my parents had an outdoor pool in their back garden and I was able to teach from it.

“People heard about what I was doing and I got invited to local homes with indoor pools to teach children. I saw the advantages of having an indoor pool and we decided to enclose it in a log cabin to make it a nice cosy environment with good acoustics.

“Swimming is my passion, I’ve been doing it since I was five and it’s a really exciting time because my daughter Alice has now become involved and I hope she will eventually will take the helm and take over the business from me.”

There are currently six swimming teachers employed at the school.