Swimming is an essential life skill, and that is why, in England and Wales, teaching it is a statutory requirement. Beyond water safety, teaching children to enjoy swimming builds a foundation for lifelong participation.
Part of engaging children in swimming and water activities is making them fun! So we have included some fun swimming games. We have two activities per stage, from reception to key stage 1 and key stage 2, and we hope you find them helpful.
Swimming Games Reception / Beginners
Sharks and mermaids
One swimmer is the shark, and all other swimmers are mermaids. Ensure all swimmers are in a position to walk across the bottom of the pool. The Mermaids job is to get from one side of the swimming area and back again without being tagged by the shark. If a mermaid is tagged, they must freeze on the spot; another mermaid may un-tag them. The mermaids are the winners if they all get from one side and back to the other without being frozen in the middle. The shark wins if they freeze all the mermaids.
- A mermaid may not untag another mermaid if they are frozen
- All the mermaids must have touched the opposite side of their swimming area before they can head back
- Mermaids can speak to each other
Extension: Add in more sharks, increase the distance mermaids must travel, and mermaids must travel in a certain way, e.g. hop, bounce, etc.
Ring a ring of roses
Setup:
- Children form a circle in the pool, standing at arm’s length apart.
- For large groups, create two or more smaller circles to maintain space and safety.
Start the Song: Recite the traditional rhyme together: “Ring a ring o’ roses, A pocket full of posies, A-tishoo! A-tishoo! We all fall down!”
Movements: During the rhyme, the group gently walks in a circle, holding hands or simply staying in formation. On the line “we all fall down,” choose one of the following fun, water-safe actions:
- Jump and splash: Jump straight up and land with a gentle splash.
- Submerge like a pebble: Bend knees and slowly drop under the surface of the water.
- Face dip: Lean forward to gently dip the face into the water.
- Ear bubbles: Lean back until ears are underwater.
Swimming Games KS1 / Intermediate
Tunnels
Setup:
- Divide swimmers into small groups of 4.
- In each group, 3 swimmers position themselves evenly spaced across the width of the pool, each holding a hoop in the water.
- The 4th swimmer is the “tunnel swimmer.”
Instructions:
- On the teacher’s signal, the tunnel swimmer sets off from one side of the pool.
- They swim through each hoop in turn, moving across the pool from one end to the other.
- The depth of each hoop can be adjusted to suit the swimmer’s confidence and ability, higher for beginners, lower for those ready for a challenge.
- Once the swimmer completes the course, they replace one of the team holding the hoop and the next swimmer takes their turn.
Extensions:
- Lower hoops: Gradually lower the hoops further into the water to increase the challenge.
- Double hoops: Have one swimmer hold two hoops at different depths for varied movement.
- Change strokes: Ask swimmers to switch swimming styles between each hoop (e.g., doggy paddle, breaststroke arms).
- Time challenge (advanced): Time how quickly the swimmer can complete the tunnel, encouraging smooth, controlled movements.
Teaching points: Emphasise the need for a streamlined body position when swimming through the hoops.
Submerge Challenge
Instructions: On the teacher’s command, children will submerge under water and use different parts of their body to touch the bottom of the pool. This helps develop control, balance, and spatial awareness underwater.
Basic Challenges (Call out or demonstrate), touch the bottom with:
- One hand
- Both hands
- One knee
- Both knees
- Sit down on the pool floor
- Elbows
Encourage pupils to control their breathing and resurface slowly after their turn.
Extensions:
- After each turn, ask pupils to make a shape under the water before resurfacing. Ideas include: Starfish, pencil shape, tuck, mermaid tail (legs together and kick), rocket pose (arms extended above head).
- Submerge & Hold: Challenge children to hold their position at the bottom for 2/3 seconds (as long as safely possible), developing stillness and breath awareness.
- Submerge Relay: In teams, pupils take turns submerging to touch the bottom with the designated body part, then return to the wall to tag the next swimmer.
Encourage pupils to control their breathing and resurface slowly.
Swimming Games KS2 / Advanced
Obstacle Relay
In teams of 3/4, pupils must complete an obstacle relay with a variety of challenge activities such as:
- Jump in → retrieve brick (object from bottom) → swim back → pass through floating hoop/held hoop → climb out
- Jump in → swim underwater to marker → turn to swim on back → turn to swim on front → Mushroom float → star float → climb out
Extension: Increase the difficulty by adding more elements, such as range of strokes, more than one person swimming at a time, and retrieving and carrying objects.
NB: Use any variety of activities suitable for the progress levels of your swimmers
Octopus Tag
Swimmers spread out over the width of the pool with their backs against the wall/pool divider.
- One person remains in the middle of the swim area, and they are the ‘Octopus’.
- Swimmers must move from one side of the area to another without being tagged by the Octopus.
- Once a swimmer is tagged by the Octopus, they must join hands with the Octopus, and the game restarts.
- The two players now joined must work together as the Octopus and tag the remaining swimmers.
- The game finishes when there is only one swimmer remaining untagged.
Extension: Vary the way the swimmers can move. Create several smaller octopuses rather than one big one.