This year Linton Heights Junior School dilapidated swimming pool was decommissioned early due to a significant number of major equipment failures. Sadly, after years of ‘nursing’ and ‘patching’ the pool along, the time has come for an extensive, but costly refurbishment. This facility urgently needs a significant amount of remedial work including: a new heating system, pool cover, cover reel system, pool liner, pool filtration system; the list goes on... We have received some repair quotes which range from £18,000 – £20,000. From the school’s perspective, this amount is understandably unaffordable on such a tight annual governmental budget.

In addition to the Linton Heights pupils, the pool is also used by pupils attending Linton Infant School and other children from local community groups. Every summer, the pool is open to Linton families who participate in the swim scheme. Post refurbishment our target is to allow more groups and community members to use the school pool.

If we are unable to secure sufficient funding, the sad reality is that we will have to close the school pool. This option would mean that each year our pupils get fewer opportunities to swim. Additionally, there would be much more disruption to the pupils’ learning time with pupils having to be transported across to pools either in Haverhill or Saffron Walden. In turn, there would also be a sizeable transport on-cost to parents. To put it another way, instead of our children receiving one swimming lesson per week for 12 weeks in the school year, pupils would receive one lesson a week for 6 weeks. This would only be available to a single year group. Furthermore, this is only dependent on the fact that the teams at the above pools can actually accommodate us. Understandably, without a pool, our and other children in Linton would be deprived of the opportunity to swim in the summer months.

Through parental and community support, we are aiming to raise sufficient money to keep this pool open and thereby continue to teach swimming to the next generation of pupils. Our school fundraising committee have and will be hosting events and this Just Giving page has been set up.

We would greatly appreciate any assistance that you can offer to allow us to keep the pool open and allow us to keep teaching the very important life skill that is swimming.

As a school team, we urgently request your financial assistance for this very worthy cause. Without it many pupils will not only be deprived the chance to learn a key life skill but will also be without a very enjoyable part of their curriculum.