SIR, I was very disturbed to hear and see from the plans on show that the rebuild of Monmouth Comprehensive School involves the demolition of the swimming pool. We came to Monmouth in the early 1970s when the 'puddle' situated on Chippenham Mead was the only place where the children of Monmouth could learn to swim. It had been the dream of a number of people in Monmouth to have a proper swimming pool bearing in mind that Monmouth is almost an island, and the number of children who had either died or come into difficulties in the various watercourses around. After much hard work and a great deal of fundraising, with such things as midnight movies (if my memory serves me rightly) a significant amount was raised towards the cost of the pool so that it could be built on the then secondary school site. Monmouth and District Swimming Association became Monmouth and District Swimming Club, teaching swimming and personal survival to numerous young and old in Monmouth. This then lead to the formation of Monnow Swimming Club as a competition club. Also there were the leisure centre classes and the Life Saving Club and Monmouth Seals for the disabled. Not so long ago, the pool and changing rooms were updated. Now for the future, the Minister for Culture & Sport, John Griffiths AM attended the Swim Wales Official launch of a programme called 'Aqua Passport'. With 26 per cent of children in Wales under the age of 11 unable to swim to the required National Standard, the 'Making Waves in Wales' campaign aims to drive awareness among parents and encourage local authorities to sign up to the Swim Wales Aqua Passport scheme (http://www.aquapassport.com">www.aquapassport.com) which is backed by the Welsh Assembly Government.
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