Archie’s captain call to save his classmates from drowning

Some primary-aged students campaigning to be school captain promise new foods in the school canteen, a games room or the right to wear Crocs.

Not 11-year-old Archie Patten from NSW’s Northern Rivers.

His platform? Raise funds to cover the cost of swimming lessons for every student at his school, improve their freestyle and breaststroke, and remove cost as a barrier to vital water safety skills.

“I am a big swimming fan,” said Archie. “And I wondered if there was a problem in Australia,” he said.

At least 48 per cent of Archie’s cohort graduating from primary schools this year won’t meet the national benchmarks of swimming a length of the pool, said Royal Lifesaving Australia chief executive Dr Justin Scarr.

In some suburbs and regions, the number who can’t swim or float well enough to save their own lives was much higher, he said.

Research shows participation in school swimming carnivals has fallen, and some schools are skipping the end-of-year swimming lessons.

In some cases, children can’t swim 25 metres, and have to be dragged through the water on pool noodles.

In his campaign speech, Archie said he loved swimming, but was scared that so many students couldn’t swim 50 metres.

“Given our country is ‘girt by sea’, it is pretty important that all us kids know how to swim,” he said. He promised to raise enough funds for swimming lessons from professional instructors.

Archie won the vote, became school captain, and defied expectations. He raised $13,500 in a Colour Run that has funded the cost of swimming lessons for all students at St Joseph’s Primary School in Maclean into 2028.

Principal Dale Layland said it covered the cost of professional swim teachers and allowed for smaller classes.

Now finishing year 6, Archie is challenging other school captains and young leaders to ask if every child at their school has access to the swimming and water safety education they need to stay safe. Called Archie’s Ripple Effect, he doesn’t want them to raise funds for his school, but for their own community.

Olympian Ruth Everuss, who coaches Archie and other children doing squad training, said children’s swimming ability had fallen, and school swimming lessons had declined.

“There used to be free learn-to-swim lessons in all the schools,” said Everuss, who previously taught at the Auburn pool that was named in her honour after 30 years of service.

“Nowadays parents have to pay, and there is a big gap. I go to swimming carnivals up here, and there are a lot of seven-year-olds sitting on the sides who can’t swim.”

At the same time, the cost of lessons and equipment has increased – even goggles can cost $30 to $60.

Participation in school swimming and carnivals was no longer compulsory for children, and many people thought swimming wasn’t cool, she said.

“I’m turning it around by saying, ‘yes, swimming is cool’,” said Everuss, 82.

Archie has started another round of fundraising, called Archie’s Ripple Raffle, which has received donations of prizes from across NSW, including the Bondi Icebergs.

“Archie’s sending a signal to all of us that we’ve got to do much more to protect not only school swimming and water safety programs, but swimming skills more generally,” Scarr said.

Scarr said if a school in part of the northern rivers, close to some great rivers and beaches, was finding children could not swim, it raised questions about what was happening in regional areas and western Sydney.

“We know the answer: It is some kids swim better than ever before, but so many kids can’t swim at all,” he said.

Research shows that drowning rates rose as distance to pools increased, and access to lessons fell.

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Julie Power is a senior reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.