Children in the Isle of Man’s primary schools are set to receive longer swimming lessons from September 2025 onwards.

The Department of Education, Sport and Culture (DESC) has announced that students from years three to six will now receive 18 lessons of 45 minutes each school year, rather than the current model of 26 lessons of 30 minutes.

This means that primary school children will spend 810 minutes in the pool per year, 30 minutes more than the current amount of 780.

A total of 22 schools will adopt the new programme at the start of the new academic year in September, with the remainder implementing it from February 2026.

Education Minister Daphne Caine said: ‘By offering longer lessons, we can better support young people in developing essential swimming skills that will serve them for life. This approach allows for more focused learning and instruction.’