Testimonials

Dear SSA team,
As a family, we would like to thank you all for how outstanding all of your staff are.
We have been with Swim and Survival for some time, and as we prepare to move interstate, we are a bit sad about leaving your swim school. We aren’t quite sure if anywhere else could compete with all of the wonderful staff you have here.

All of your staff have such special qualities, and they are super amazing, kind, friendly, engaging and fun. And they have all played a part in instilling an absolute love of swimming in my girls. Whatever you do as a business, in terms of recruitment, training and establishing culture, you are doing an amazing job.

Lots of love
Faye, Makala, Harlei and Tilly XXX

Swim and Survive are Amazing. My 2 daughters both do swimming there, with one child (6) loving the water and the other child (4) absolute hating swimming lessons. I can not thank the staff enough for all the help and support that they gave and showed us, I was so willing to just give up with my youngest daughter but they told me never to give up and helped me along the way with phone calls and custom made programs for her. A HUGE THANK-YOU to my youngest daughters first teacher.....all we know her as is Cath. She was amazing and she never gave up on my daughter in what she could achieve and her support to me was something I will never forget and am very thankful also. You ALL do an amazing job with the children and my daughters have now been there for 2 years and my youngest is thriving, loving the water and relaxed. Thank you and bless you all.

Our daughter was terrified of the water and we delayed swimming lessons till she was 2 and started with Steph in tiny tackers. Well after the constant screaming while in the water Steph slowly worked her magic and made sure Alexis was comfortable in the water before we even attempted floaties and belts. When it came time to moving up we were all very anxious about a new teacher but only 3wks into her new class we were pleased to have Steph back. I am so pleased that Alexis now asks to go swimming everyday and looks forward to seeing Steph every week, so much has changed for my child from Stephs wonderful work we are one very happy customer who would recommend the school to anyone.

From a Mum with kids at both ends of the scale, an overconfident fish child and a screaming shy mummy's boy, Thank-you, both adore their swimming lessons. Particularly with the shy screaming child, they were so patient as caring with him. He is now nothing but smiles during swimming. Absolutely recommend to anyone interested. 

The best swim school. The staff are all friendly and greet you with a smile every lesson. I have had troubles with my son and they do a great job to fix the problem. He now loves swimming again and cant wait to go each week. I wouldnt go anywhere else!!!

From SSA Facebook

Thankyou to all the friendly staff at SSA. My son has been swimming since he was six months old and he LOVES it! He is now 3 years old and just graduated from the tiny tackers program and now swims on his own.
In such a short amount of time I have seen him gain an enormous amount of confidence in the water, and he thoroughly enjoys his classes.
Thankyou Mark, Blake asks me every night if its " time to go swimming with Mark?" ,and all the teachers , you all do a fantastic job!

From SSA Facebook

Swim and Survive are Amazing. My 2 daughters both do swimming there, with one child (6) loving the water and the other child (4) absolute hating swimming lessons. I can not thank the staff enough for all the help and support that they gave and showed us, I was so willing to just give up with my youngest daughter but they told me never to give up and helped me along the way with phone calls and custom made programs for her. A HUGE THANK-YOU to my youngest daughters first teacher.....all we know her as is Cath. She was amazing and she never gave up on my daughter in what she could achieve and her support to me was something I will never forget and am very thankful also. You ALL do an amazing job with the children and my daughters have now been there for 2 years and my youngest is thriving, loving the water and relaxed.

Thank you and bless you all

From SSA Facebook

A big thanks to all the lovely staff at SSA. Took Lucas (4 1/2) back after 3 terms off whilst we had little Ella. He's been going since 6 mths, but was a big moment for me to leave him to go to lesson all by himself whilst I took Ella into tiny tackers. All the lovely staff like Lauren, Sarah and Julie ( sorry if I forgot someone) at the front desk when we arrived, welcoming him back, gave him (and me!) a huge boost. Feeling confident we can make this work thanks to your help. Oh and Ella loved her first class too. So glad we started again with you all.

From SSA Facebook

Our daughter was terrified of the water and we delayed swimming lessons till she was 2 and started with Steph in tiny tackers. Well after the constant screaming while in the water Steph slowly worked her magic and made sure Alexis was comfortable in the water before we even attempted floaties and belts. When it came time to moving up we were all very anxious about a new teacher but only 3wks into her new class we were pleased to have Steph back. I am so pleased that Alexis now asks to go swimming everyday and looks forward to seeing Steph every week, so much has changed for my child from Stephs wonderful work we are one very happy customer who would recommend the school to anyone.

From Facebook

Thanks to the SSA team for being patient throughout the term with Konnor whilst he has been particularly hesitant about swimming lessons.  You have greatly exceeded my expectations.  You have been able to increase Konnor’s confidence from not getting into the pool without tears, to be a confident little swimmer, beginning to remove floatation devices and swim with his head and face in the water.  

Thanks everyone, you have been invaluable

Just wanting to say how much we have enjoyed having Ben teach Arlo.  He is so patient and encouraging.  We have never seen Ben frustrated or impatient.  He is such an asset to Swim and Survival Academy.  

Thanks Ben.

Tayla and Abbey , My girls (6yrs and 8 yrs) got caught in a rip at the beach. Both girls stayed calm while in the rip and they both swam across the rip to safey and sam out to the rocks.

Well done guys, you save my girls.

Steve, thanks for all your hard work with Viv. He is finally enjoying swimming after being a highly reluctant swimmer.

Most appreciated 

Hi All,

Maya, who turned three, was playing on the step to her uncles' pool. Her parents, Marcus and Ali, were watching her and her brother playing a few metres away when Maya slipped on the step into the main pool area. Maya started treading and kept her head above water, however the pool jets were gently pushing the water and Maya away from the edge.

Because of the jets pushing her out to the middle she was just out of arms length do her father had to wade in and pull her back to the edge.

During the whole incident, which lasted about 20 seconds Maya kept treading and kept her head above the water.

It was a great lesson for Maya and also proved to us as her parents that the many hours and dollars spent on swimming lessons at the Swim Survival Academy was paying off!

Thanks

Our 7 year old son Jack Kent took one term of introductory swimming lessons with you at the end of last year. Jack's grandfather died on New Years Day and the family went to Ceduna in South Australia for the service. On the way home we stayed at a beach side resort on Glenelg Beach.

Being from Ballarat our family took to the beach even though the wind was up for a bit. For the uninitiated (as we were) Glenelg beach has two sand bars before the enticing breaking waves. Jack, being a pretty much typical 7 year old, pushed the boundaries and kept bouncing out to the big waves. We kept bringing him in. After a while playing on the beach in the sun, we were all pretty mellow and Jack said he was going to play in the wet sand.

When we looked up he was in the breaking waves out on the second sand bar, and the wind, waves and severe side ways rip had drifted him to the north of the beach area. We went to get him, but the rip was faster and before lon gthe sand bar had petered out into a deep pool where the water pushed along the beach, hit a breakwater (becoming deeper and faster) and then swung off shore. JAck got caught in the rip and in moments was not able to touch the sand beneath is feet. Amazingly Jack did not panic even when he was exhausted from dog paddling, and from getting mouthfulls of seawater.

He used his initiative and decided to keep swimming towards the breakwater rather than to shore. As we tried to get him we saw his head bobbing up and ...

"To the SWIM AND SURVIVAL ACADEMY,

Just a quick note to say thanks for all the work you have done with Brock over the past term and the school holidays.

Brock has certainly come a long way in the water. I could never have imagined that he would blow bubbles or voluntarily kick his legs in the water.

Brock was enrolled at a different centre previously and used to be in such a state that he would run out of the centre and onto the road trying to escape lessons. They put him in the "too hard" basket and told me to try again in a couple of terms. So as you can appreciate we are deeply grateful for the work you have all put in with Brock.

The height of his progress was obvious to me on the last weekend. I took the boys to Warrnambool. It was too cold for the beach, but we did visit the indoor pool facility there. Brock was actually excited to go! He hoped in the program and "fun" pool with no encouragement at all. He had a ball- for the first time playing with his brothers in the water and chasing them through the water of the pool. He even left the side of the pool and kicked on a kickboard. And blew bubbles.

I know the lessons with Brock have been demanding on you all, but you have all treated him with such patience and perseverance that I felt it must be acknowledged. Without you guys he wouldn't be as happy to in the water as he is. So thank you.

Kind regards

"Sebastian swims at the Swim and Survival Academy because of the wonderful progress we continue to see in his swimming every week, no matter what the weather is like outside"

Dear Rob and Julie,

We are writing to say thank you for the wonderful job that your centre has done with our little boy. Jacob is six years old and up until 6 months ago was afraid of the water, would not put his head in the water let alone let go of the side of the pool. We decided to send Jacob along to swim lessons and it has been one of the best decisions that my husband and I have made.

After only 2 terms with your school Jacob is a totally diferent boy when it comes to swimming. He loves going to the pool and showing us all the things he has learned and not only that he can also swim 25 metres unaided, which to us is such a great achievement. We must really commend you and your dedicated staff who make swimming not only a learning experience but great fun for the kids as well.

John and I were so impressed with your centre that we also enrolled out three year old daughter Alexandra, she has being going to swim lessons for 2 terms and just loves it.

We highly recommend your centre to anyone wanting to give their children a head start with water safety or just for some good fun.

The O'Neill family 'love' learning to swim at the Swim and Survival Academy as it feels like the 'red carpet' has been rolled out for us. As individuals it seems like we are being 'watched' & never do we become stagnant in our swimming. We are encouraged at every level.

Thanks SSA

I never thought we'd get Dyami to participate in swimming lessons. It was a nightmare, initially he just wouldn't have a bar of it, crying hysterically, we couldn't peel him off either myself or my husband to get him into the water. I just wanted to give up because it seemed hopeless, and I didn't want to put him or myself through anymore stress.

We then took a different approach and put him in private lessons before going into a group setting. He was a little tentative at first, but now he's fine. I'm so glad we persisted, I can't explain what a relief it is, and how good it has been for his confidence. He is so proud of himself. His instructor has been so well matched for him and the gradual process worked so well. We now have a little boy who is happy about going to swimming lessons, loves his instructor and enjoys swimming with a group.

Thanks SSA

We had Bernard start his familiarity with water at another facility close to home. We are so happy to have Bernard change to this place as he is really enjoying himself with your fantastic teachers. He has improved so much and we will be continuing to have him go to lessons here. I will be passing on out good experience to others.

Well done and a big thank you.

Zara has shown extreme improvement at swimming. She has been swimming for a while but never jump into the pool. She does it now after the 5 day Intensive Program. I am so impressed with the work SSA and teachers put towards our children. Highly recommended.

Zara has built confidence being at SSA and I am thankful to SSA and team for helping.

I would also like to comment on “health”. Zara has been to many swim centers coming back with ear infections and cold. I have not had this issue with SSA. So an extremely hygienic place.

“Absolutely love it”

We are so happy with everyone at SSA. All the staff are happy and cheerful. Our kids have always been very timid of water, but not anymore. In five days they have come so far, it’s amazing. Katherine and Dionne made learning to swim fun and the kids have had a ball. They had no confidence around water before coming to SSA, now they can’t wait to get in the pool. They have raved about learning to swim, and we will now have our kids in swimming programs at SSA from now on.

A relative is thinking of moving to the Ballarat area, and asked me about swim schools in the area for his kids. I recommended SSA to him straight away, and I would recommend SSA to anyone. Our kids enjoy coming to SSA and that makes us happy.

Our kids love it at SSA, and we couldn’t ask for more than that.

This is the first Holiday Program we have participated in. We have found it a highly enjoyable experience. It has renewed my children’s love for swimming and I have noticed improvement in their skills, attitude to classes as well as their confidence and desire to improve.

Thank you very much to Lauren for recommending this program and to Steve for doing a great job as Desk Supervisor.

Hi All,

We wanted to say a big thank you for all the effort you went to last week to mark the Olympic Games for the children.

Our boys (Eli and Angus) were absolutely thrilled to receive a medal and greatly enjoyed the presentation after their swimming lesson!

Thank you for continuing to make swimming fun for our children and giving them ambition to be their best. When Eli grows up, he wants to compete in the Olympic Games (bless his heart!).

Kind regards,

I am writing to say a big 'thank you' to the team at S&S Academy. I enrolled my 2 children, aged 5 and 3, in the intensive holiday program at the start of the year. They had never received formal swimming lessons and I was very worried, due to my son's anxiety issues, that disaster would ensue! Well, I have been thrilled with the whole experience, and after completing their first term of weekly lessons, both James and Rose have grown in confidence and skill level.I attribute this success to the caring, positive and enthusiastic staff, who have always been happy to accommodate my son's needs and ensure he is guided through the levels and 'looked after'. In fact, swimming lessons seem to have improved his confidence and cognitive function in general, not just in the water. He is able to listen to instructions and take turns now, which are areas he has previously struggled in.

I would highly recommend S&S Academy to all parents. It is peace of mind to know that my children are well on their way to learning to swim, and as a bonus they really enjoy their lessons and are so proud of themselves.

We are very impressed with the small classes and the enthusiasm of all the teachers here at your pool. We have only been here one week and are very happy!