The swimming pool at The Duke of York’s Royal Military School (DOYRMS) continues to be closed from Wednesday 2 September to Sunday 13 September while essential maintenance work is completed.

The pool closed earlier than planned due to unforseen circumstances back in August and the works have run on longer than any of us hoped.

We have secured pool time at Maritime Skills Academy (MSA) in Whitfield so that most lessons carry on as normal, the same venue many of you will remember from our closure last year.

Lessons should return to normal at DOYRMS from Monday 14 September.

A Fortnight of Water Safety

MSA is not an ordinary swimming pool. It is a training centre built for people who work at sea, with immersion suits and rescue equipment lining the walls and a pool designed for exactly that kind of practice.

There have sadly been a number of incidents in the water around our coastline recently, and it has been a reminder to all of us that swimming and staying safe are two different skills. So across the fortnight we will be weaving water safety into lessons at every stage.

• Floating, treading water and staying calm out of your depth.
• Self rescue, getting yourself back to the side and out.
• What to do when you see somebody else in trouble.

Learning that in an environment built to teach it is an opportunity we would not normally get. We hope your swimmers enjoy it, and enjoy the change of scene for a fortnight.

Staying Open, Together

Closing for the fortnight would have been the simpler option. Finding pool time at short notice, rebuilding a timetable around it and getting everybody told is a great deal more work. We chose the harder one on purpose.

• It keeps our team together. Our teachers keep their normal hours and their normal classes rather than being stood down for two weeks. It is the same call we made when the pool first closed in August, when the team went into training rather than being sent home.
• It keeps our services open. Some Group lessons & Private Lessons continue through the maintenance works.
• It gives something back. Our community gets a fortnight of water safety in a marine survival centre.

Pools close, equipment fails and accidents happen, and none of that is in our hands. What is in our hands is whether swimmers keep swimming and whether our team keeps working, and we will always do everything we can to make the answer yes to both.

Everything on this page applies to DOYRMS swimmers only. If you swim at SafelySwim Endless, nothing changes at all. Your lessons run as normal throughout.

Stage 2 and Above

Nothing changes except the address. Same day, same time, at MSA for the two weeks. Our Water Safety lessons will run there too.

There is nothing for you to do and nothing to rebook. If your class time does need to move, we will contact you directly.

Check your lesson time on appDot - click here -.

Stage 1 and Stage 1+

We are very sorry, due to the ability and confidence of these swimmers our Stage 1 and Stage 1+ classes are cancelled for the fortnight.

You will be credited for every lesson during this closure, and you will not be charged for them. Your payment on 1 September already has the credit taken off, shown on your invoice as “Credit for lessons missed 2 to 13 September”.

Baby & Toddler

There are no DOYRMS classes at all on the Saturdays, so all three Saturday Baby & Toddler groups are cancelled on 5 and 12 September.

You will be credited for every lesson during this closure, and you will not be charged for them. Your payment on 1 September already has the credit taken off, shown on your invoice as “Credit for lessons missed 2 to 13 September”.

If You See Two Credits

Some families will see a second credit on the same 1 September invoice. That one is for the lessons missed in August, when the pool closed then.

Two closures, two credits, both yours. If you see two, that is right.

Private Lessons

Private Lessons will contiue to go ahead at MSA for our Regular Private Lesson customers. Please assume your lesson is running unless one of two things happens:

• You cancel the lesson appDot.
• A member of the team contacts you directly.

If the time no longer suits you, you can change both your lesson time and your tutor yourself in appDot. That applies to one-off bookings and to regular weekly bookings.

Due to the depth of the pool at MSA, we recommend Private Lessons there for swimmers in Stage 3 and above.

Water Tests

All Water Tests booked during the closure are cancelled. We will contact everyone affected directly to arrange a new booking once we are back at DOYRMS.

Class Movements

To ensure swimmer safety, our Learn to Swim class movements are on pause until 14 September.

Assessments carry on as normal in the meantime, so nobody loses progress. Anyone ready to move up will be moved as soon as we are back at DOYRMS.

Learn to Compete and Squads

Competitive swimmers are being dealt with directly by the competitive team. Lead Coach will be in touch with squad specific arrangements, so please watch your emails rather than following the information above.

Getting to MSA

Maritime Skills Academy Menzies Road, Whitfield, Dover, Kent, CT16 2FG

• Parking is free on site.
• Up to three spectators per swimmer, with a balcony to watch from.
• Water temperature sits between 29 and 30 degrees.
• There is no SafelySwim reception desk at MSA. Our Lead on Shift covers first aid and any emergency, and MSA staff are on site throughout every session.

Maritime Skills Academy Venue Guide

Maritime Skills Academy Venue Information

Common Questions

Do I need to rebook anything? No. Stage 2 and above keep the same day and time, and cancelled lessons are credited automatically.

Will my September payment change? Only if your swimmer is in Stage 1, Stage 1+, or Saturday Baby & Toddler at DOYRMS. Those credits are already on the 1 September payment. Everything else is charged as normal because the lessons are still running.

Can my Stage 1 swimmer join a class at MSA instead? Not at MSA, but get in touch and we will look at what we can offer at SafelySwim Endless for the fortnight.

Will we definitely be back on 14 September? That is the date DOYRMS have confirmed to us. The works have already run on once, so if anything changes we will tell you straight away by email and here on our news page.

Something else? Email [email protected] and one of the team will come back to you.

Thank You

Closures are never welcome, and we know a change of venue is a nuisance for families juggling school runs and siblings. Thank you for bearing with us, and for the flexibility you have shown us once again.

We will walk back into DOYRMS on the 14th ready to pick up exactly where we left off.

From all of us at SafelySwim, thank you for your patience. 💙