Sink or swim? - Schools take the plunge to build water confidence, literacy, as more J’cans urged to embrace skill

Despite being surrounded by water, most Jamaicans cannot swim – a national reality that swim teacher Georgina Boland sees reflected yearly in the intake of students at The Queen’s School in St Andrew, many of whom arrive with little to no water confidence.

To combat this gap in basic survival skills, the all-girls institution is among a handful of schools to have incorporated swimming into its curriculum and requires every student from first to third form to complete a term of lessons as part of their physical education instruction.

It is a crucial life intervention for an island that is home to roughly 120 rivers and streams, 70 public bathing beaches, and a recurring threat of severe floodwaters from heavy rains.