Thousands of school children every year will be taught to swim at a brand new leisure centre in Havering.
Managed by Everyone Active, in partnership with Havering Council, the new Rainham Leisure Centre will be a magnet for local schools, including Rainham Village Primary School, situated a stone’s throw from the new site.
With the centre’s ‘dry side’ facilities now set to open early, on Saturday 1st July, a group of children from the local primary school were invited to tour the building, offering a first look at the centre they will benefit from for years to come.
Excited pupils described the new building as “super cool” and said the site visit was “so fun” saying they “can’t wait” to use the new facilities.
The school is just one of those in the local area which will be using the pool for swimming lessons.
Headteacher of Rainham Village Primary School, Helen Harrow, explained: “The new leisure centre will be instrumental in supporting the health and wellbeing of local children. The swimming pool is fabulous and will engage children in learning how to swim, a life skill which is so important not just for their physical health but mental health, plus it’s fun for them too.”
To further engage with the local school, Everyone Active and Havering Council arranged a creative mural competition, with the winning piece of artwork re-created as a large mural on the poolside wall at the new leisure centre. Currently, 200 entries from children at Rainham Village Primary School are being whittled down and a winner will be announced shortly.
Tom Fletcher, area contract manager at Everyone Active, said: “Improving the local communities health and well-being is at the heart of the new centre. We’re delighted to invite local school children from Rainham Village Primary School to have a first look at the facilities – they’re certainly very excited which is fantastic to see!”
On Saturday 1st July, all ‘dry side’ facilities at the brand new Rainham Leisure Centre, including dance and spin studio, and a 75-station fitness suite, will be complete and handed over to Everyone Active to manage, with ‘wet facilities’ such as the six-lane swimming pool, opening to the public later this summer.
To celebrate the opening, the centre will host a family fun day on Saturday 1st July, inviting everyone from the local community to try a wide range of activities, all for free. More information will be shared shortly.
The Leader of Havering Council, Councillor Ray Morgon, said: “With the finishing line in sight for the development of Rainham Leisure Centre, it’s the perfect time to join local school students on site to show them all of the great facilities on offer, and thank them for their wonderful mural competition entries.
“We are very pleased to be investing in the future of our leisure centres as they are so important to both our physical and mental health, at a time when many other councils are not able to.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the centre being enjoyed as a place to stay healthy, meet and socialise for our residents of all ages.”
The new leisure centre was developed by ReCreation, who use the latest, innovative methods of design and construction to develop energy-efficient and minimally polluting facilities – for the recreation of local people but never at the expense of the local environment.
The company, founded in 2005 and owned by Olympians Becky Adlington OBE and Steve Parry MBE, with their stated mission to revolutionize swimming and change lives, provide modern community leisure centres with swimming pools at their heart.