Portsmouth Water to support 100 children to learn to swim

One hundred Havant children will receive subsidised swimming lessons, thanks to a new partnership between Portsmouth Water, charitable trust Horizon Leisure and Havant Borough Council.

The initiative will see the cost of weekly lessons and pool access reduce substantially from £30 per month to just £10 at Horizon Leisure’s Havant and Waterlooville wellbeing centres for 100 children whose families receive Universal Credit and other qualifying benefits. The subsidised programme will run for one year from September 2025, with each child receiving six months of lessons at the lower rate. Families can apply via Horizon Leisure’s dedicated webpage, which will go live in July.

The initiative is especially crucial in Havant, an area with high levels of deprivation, where just 16% of children and young people swim regularly compared to 31% across Hampshire as a whole, highlighting the significant local need for accessible swimming education.

Bob Taylor, Chief Executive Officer for Portsmouth Water, said: “As a local, community orientated company, we’ve been inspired by Havant Borough Council and Horizon Leisure’s ambition to support local children and young people to learn to swim.

“The numbers of those able to swim in this area are staggeringly low in comparison to other parts of Hampshire and, given our proximity to the coast, it’s really important that children can access these lessons. Reducing costs for those families already struggling will make a big difference and we’re incredibly proud to be playing a part in this initiative.”

Havant Borough Council’s Cabinet Lead for Regeneration and Communities, Councillor Gillian Harris, said: “One of our priorities is to improve wellbeing across the borough and getting children and young people more active is an important part of this.

“We recognise that cost is a barrier to accessing leisure facilities and activities for many families on limited incomes. This scheme will make swimming accessible for children who otherwise might not be able to have lessons or even just swim for fun.

“I hope these swimming sessions not only enable children to learn a vital life skill and have fun in the water, but also help them build healthy habits that they will carry on into their adulthood.”

Mike Lyons, CEO, Horizon Leisure says: “We are passionate about delivering high-quality, inclusive swimming lessons for our community and we currently provide swimming lessons to more than 3,000 local children per week. We are committed to reducing barriers to access and through this special partnership we will be able to deliver swimming lessons to those most financially vulnerable in our community.

“We understand the importance of learning to swim and the vital life skill this provides to everyone of all ages, especially living in the coastal towns that we do. Our Swim England programme focuses on not just teaching children to swim, but also giving them the knowledge, skills and abilities they need in order to survive in all bodies of water.”

Once children have completed the six month course, the families can swim together and continue to practise the skills they have learnt at a reduced cost by taking advantage of Horizon Leisure’s Community Discount programme, which is available to those on

Universal Credit, Income Support, Employment Support Allowance, Pension Credit, Job Seekers Allowance, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit or Disability Allowance. Additionally, those receiving Working Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit with an NHS tax credit exemption certificate, as well as full-time students aged 18 and over, may also qualify.

Portsmouth Water is also supporting those in the community who are struggling financially by expanding its Matched Payment Scheme. Over the past five years, the company has helped 2,386 customers with matched payments of £358,000, and by 2030 this will grow to 6,250 customers, with matched payments rising to £938,000.

Additional initiatives include expanding its Priority Services Register, which will grow from 36,000 to 43,500 customers over the next five years. It is also maintaining payment holidays and introducing a Hardship Fund to provide extra help for those in financial difficulty.

A full list of support measures can be found here.