Learn to Swim at The Kennedy Swim Technique Centre, Britain's 'Centre of Excellence' in Learning to Swim

 

Here are some Testimonials from customers
who learned to swim at The Kennedy Swim Technique Centre

January 2007
(From the Vice Chancellor of one of Britain's leading sporting Universities)

Dear Frank and Jane,

Very best wishes for 2007. I am pleased with my progress so far and in fact my experience last year was in many ways the defining moment of that year. I am though in need of improvement, particularly in regard to breathing and also in regard to other strokes etc. What vacancies do you have in 2007 for a return visit? I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards, Frank


December 2006

Dear Frank and Jane,

I thought you were overdue an e-mail from me thanking you for your hospitality and the inspirational tuition I received over a weekend in September. During that time, I actually enjoyed, for the first time ever, being in the water!

I'd also like to update you on my progress since my weekend with you.

I visited my local public swimming pool a few days after my weekend training, but the main pool had a deep end and the learner pool did not allow swimmers over the age of 8!

So I joined a private health club and found the quiet times to practice swimming (early morning before work). Visiting it several times a week since September my progress has been steady and when I had difficult moments, I recalled your encouraging words and training, Frank, and concentrated on your techniques.

I now have successfully incorporated breathing into my swimming and this is a huge step forward for me. I can now swim lengths! Whilst I pause at the end of each length, today I swam 30 lengths!

My next goal is to swim consecutive lengths and to continue to improve on my technique.

I am so pleased with my progress and cannot believe that I have achieved this level of improvement. Whilst it has not always been easy, I was very determined to progress following my tuition with you, Frank.

Thank you so much for everything. Please let me know what stroke improvement courses you have available during 2007.

Merry Christmas to you both,

Regards, Julie


July 2006

Hi Jane & Frank,

Just a note to thank you both so much for the brilliant weekend. Dave was obviously very impressed with my progress because he immediately showed the film to our children when we returned and they are just amazed - this was definitely mum doing something that mum never did. Even Dave's dad was called up with the news so you see this has been an experience for the whole family. As for me, I'm still walking around with a huge grin. I have a session booked at the swimming pool for 8pm tonight - I won't ask you to wish me luck because I know you will tell me to 'just get on with it '...

Thanks again to you both, Best wishes, Lynn


Dear Frank & Jane,

December 2004

First, I would like to apologise for not having put pen to paper sooner and second I would like to thank you for what you helped me achieve during my short stay with you both.

Whilst I had made up my mind that I was going to learn to swim, I had serious doubts as to whether you could truly unlock the secret that had alluded me for the previous 42 years and as you know Chris was extremely dubious that this could be done in 3 days…..remember she had seen my ‘float like a brick imitation’ up close!! But true to your word you achieved it and without ever putting me in a position where I felt uncomfortable or frightened. To be honest I am still amazed that you had me doing things within the first hour that I had not had the confidence to try since I was about 6 years old.

But I guess you are wondering how I am getting on....and I have to admit that I have not visited the pool anything like as often as you recommended, as things have been extremely busy since we returned what with my new job and final year of my MBA. However, I have been going to the pool with Jade and she has assumed the mantle of my ‘coach’. I am slowly building up my stamina and whilst I am not managing to breathe on front crawl yet, I can manage OK with breaststroke. However, the backstroke is still a bit ‘iffy!!!

Overall and given the time limitations, I am very comfortable with my progress and am sure that the improvement will continue steadily (I’m off to Phoenix [soon] on business and the trunks are going with me!!).

In summary, I would like to thank you for what was a life changing few days for me and a wonderfully enjoyable break for my family. As you know, Jade & Megan thoroughly enjoyed their stay and I’m pleased to report that you are still regarded as the No.1 holiday spot and remain ahead of Florida!!

With thanks, Yours Sincerely, Nigel Woodall


Hi Frank,

Dear Frank and Jane,I just wanted to thank you for a lovely stay in the Cotswolds and to let you know how my swimming is coming along.

After leaving The Kennedy Swim Technique Centre on Wednesday, I drove down to Cornwall to visit my mum and managed to get to the swimming pool on Thursday and Sunday. I swallowed my embarrassment and went to the pool with goggles, hat and homework in hand. I tried to pretend that I did this all the time and just got on with the worksheet. It went so well, I was really on a high when I got out of the pool. A lady stopped me in the changing room and asked me if I was training for some kind of event!!

The next day I was out walking around St. Ives and saw advertisements for surfing schools. Until last week I would never have given a second thought to the idea, but I am now seriously considering giving it a go.

I arrived back in Geneva on Sunday evening and managed to get to the pool at my gym on Wednesday. Unfortunately the pool is slightly too deep, so I can only just stand on my tiptoes. Next week I intend to try out a different pool to see how it is set up.

This evening we are flying to Rome for the weekend and guess what?? There is a pool in the hotel, so I will take my things to practise there too.

Thanks again for a lovely stay. Frank, I appreciated your calm and matter-of-fact approach to teaching. It helped me enormously in overcoming my fear. All of a sudden I am looking forward to trying out all kinds of activities linked to having fun in the water.

Do not hesitate to contact me if you are ever out this way. Regards, Sally


Hi Frank,

Just wanted to thank you again for all your help and understanding in helping me face and conquer my fear of water, you did an absolutely brilliant job my mind keeps running over the great feeling of floating along with my head underwater and the last exercise curling up like a ball what a fantastic feeling that was, you were right I drove up the motorway with a big grin on my face replaying all we had achieved. I stopped off at the service for some food and as I sat there and looked around at the people there. I wanted to jump up and shout to everyone LOOK AT ME I CAN SWIM I NO LONGER FEAR THE WATER!!

THANK YOU once again for helping me achieve as much as I did and giving me this brilliantly fantastic great feeling that I want to shout it from the roof tops, what ever else I manage to achieve in my life I am sure this will feeling will remain No. 1.

I intend to continue the groundwork you have given me and will let you know when I have managed to swim ten mts or more.

Many, Many Thanks, David


Hi Frank,

I'm sorry I missed you when we left your farm this morning. I wanted to say thank you for the wonderful skill you've given me. I know this weekend has been a life-changing experience for me. We've already picked up the timetable from our local pool, and Don and I are comparing diaries so we can make time to get there together.

The small phrase 'thank you' doesn't seem large enough to express what I mean to say, but from the bottom of my heart I want to say thank you to you and Jane for the kindness you have shown to me and Don.

Now, I should be able to get in the local pool and show them all what I can do.

Thanks a million Frank, kind regards, Lin Luff


Dear Frank & Jane,

Just a quick note to thank you for a wonderful weekend. It is so wonderful to appreciate the art of swimming in just one weekend!!! You have started me on a new path in life for which I am eternally grateful. The world is a richer place with people like you around.

Many thanks, Darius Ariana


Dear Frank,

Just had to write and thank you again. Richard and I enrolled at Clarice House in Bury St Edmunds yesterday and spent over an hour in the pool there.

I'm still in shock really, I can now enjoy the water instead of sitting on the side wishing. I plan on building on the things you taught me, I still hear your voice, telling me there's no back door and willing me to carry on. Never in my wildest dreams did I think anyone could teach me what you did in such a short time. I thank you from the bottom of my heart and hope to return later for some more of your expert tuition. Richard is even thinking that he could improve his swimming with you too, so maybe next time we come you will have the two of us learning more of your expert skills.

Once again, thank you both for making us so welcome, we really did enjoy our stay, it's a holiday we will never forget. I achieved something I have wanted to do for over 50 years!! You have a very special talent Frank. Many people have tried to just get me in the water and failed in the past, I still can't believe how easy you made it for me. I was underwater the very first day!! I will submit my story on your web site in the hope it will give someone else the courage to contact you and take the first steps to enjoying water instead of being terrified by it. Please tell Jane the swim hat works a treat, no more ear trouble :0)

Many, many thanks, I will keep in touch

Best Wishes from Maureen (Fuller)


Dear Frank & Jane, Just a quick note to say thanks for a fantastic weekend! It was really great to get away from the hustle of London & relax in such peaceful surroundings. I really appreciate the way you looked after me & brought me lunch & dinner. You are both very kind.

I can't believe how you've managed to change my attitude to both water & swimming in just one weekend. Previously, I always avoided swimming pools & made excuses when friends suggested going to water parks, etc on holidays. I had resigned myself to the fact that swimming was for other people. Now i'm actually looking forward to getting down to my local pool and putting into practice all my new skills!

Needless to say, if I can't manage to fit my breathing in, I'll be in touch!

Thanks again for all your help,

Mike


Dear Jane and Frank, Many, many thanks for an unforgettable week, your wonderful hospitality and truly outstanding swimming lessons.

I was terrified of water at the start of the week, but I overcame that fear on the very first day and was able to swim consecutive lengths of the pool at all three strokes by the Friday. I am in a state of shock at the total turn around, and stunned at how Frank knew exactly what input was needed every step of the way.

You have truly changed my life. I want to thank you also for making me feel so safe and welcome at all times. It was a bit daunting coming on my own - I needn`t have worried. Thank you so much. I really appreciate all that you have done - I just wish I could have stayed another week !

Best wishes to you both

Joyce, SRN Southampton


A year after going to The Kennedy Swim Technique Centre to learn how to swim, my progress was so impressive that I was able to qualify as a full ASA swimming teacher myself. This qualifies me for employment, but I will only ever teach my pupils to swim with the superior methods that I have learned from working with Mr Kennedy at The Kennedy Swim Technique Centre. From the non swimmer to the advanced teacher I would advise everyone to seek the opportunity of learning at The Kennedy Swim Technique Centre.

David Mayhew, F.I.S.T.C Cheltenham


After I passed my ASA teachers I trained at The Kennedy Swim Technique Centre to learn their specialised methods of introducing nervous non swimmers to water. Using these new skills was clearly impressive and I was immediately offered extra money by my employers at that time (Tower Hamlets council) to apply my new skills to both the adult and children lessons that I was involved with, the results were astonishing and i soon found myself being offered a job as swimming co-ordinator in charge of all the lessons running at that time.

Since fully qualifying with The Kennedy Swim Technique Centre I now work with private clients only earning over £50 an hour as a very respected swimming teacher in and around London.
Please feel free to contact me.


Josephine Jennings (email: jo2swim@hotmail.com)


Dear Kennedy Swim Technique Centre, This is just a quick note to express our gratitude for teaching our 4-year-old daughter, Amelia to swim. As your technique proved, there is more to swimming than floating and moving your arms and legs in the water. Prior to coming to your school, Amelia had to be taken out of school swimming lessons, and also would not use a shower. Your approach of first getting her to blow bubbles in a bowl of water "cracked the ice", and testimony to your technique, is that she could swim ¾ of a mile front crawl within 9 months. Such was the transformation that the local television station even featured her on a news article.

Once again, thank you. Wendy and I wish you many more successes.
Kind regards


Allen Edmondson


After teaching and sharing ideas together at The Savoy Hotel, the famous celebrity teacher Pierre Gruneberg of France said of Frank Kennedy,

"I could not teach this man anything, he is the true professional".


After just two lessons at The Kennedy Swim Technique Centre I know that, after years of failed attempts, I will soon be a swimmer - I can already float!

Before my first lesson I was really very frightened - I need not have been.

As soon as I drove up Jane Kennedy was on hand to welcome and reassure me, telling me where to get changed et cetera.

I had been very worried that no form of float was to be used but this turned out to be a real bonus. What I have achieved at each lesson I know I have really accomplished with no doubt hanging over me as in the past when it had always been "will I be able to do this when the floats are taken away". I have learnt and am confident in the fact that the only support I need is good deep breaths (which Frank takes time to teach you to do properly) plus the water.

I had the added worry that you cannot wear hearing aids in the pool. Again I need not have worried I am learning despite my disability. I just regret all those years I have missed when I could have enjoyed the water rather than being terrified of it.

Frances


I have attended various swimming lessons throughout my life, but without any success, because of my great fear of water. How wonderful it was, and how easy, even at the age of 67 to finally conquer this fear. I am now able to swim front crawl. This is all down to Frank's unique approach to swimming tuition.

Diane Huggins


Having spent much of my twenty-nine years in various kinds of education, I read Law at Oxford University, am a qualified lawyer, and have enrolled on various other courses too, I have found that all outstanding teachers share three key characteristics:

1. A wide, deep and ever-developing knowledge of their area which springs from an heartfelt passion.

2. A capacity to communicate at different levels plus an ability to adapt this to match each individual's requirements, whatever they may be.

3. A personality that inspires people to shine.

Experience has shown me that only when a teacher has all three factors, do I really learn as opposed to just get by. I have found this to be as true in lessons I've had in salsa, astrology, cooking, IT, and Spanish, as in formal education.

After previous swimming lessons at school, my local leisure centre, and other private instructors, I've not been able to manage more than a handful of awkward strokes. Even with determination and commitment on my part; after all, it's not all down to the teacher! I used to think that I'd never be able to swim well, but I now think it's because the instructors I've had in the past just weren't up to it. Despite being very able swimmers themselves, they just didn't know how to show me what to do in a way that worked for me. I know this harsh judgment is true because I've finally got a good front crawl stroke after a four-day intensive course with The Kennedy Swim Technique. Frank's got all three with bells on.

Frank's enthusiasm for teaching people to swim is so fresh that you wouldn't know that he'd been doing it for over thirty years already. He's a star at helping you to relax in the water, pinpointing where you're at, and then carefully building your confidence and ability to swim in a step-by-step manner with such charm and professionalism that you don't even realise just how much work he's making you do! Frank is also refreshingly honest about what you can reasonably expect to achieve in the time you have with him based on where you're starting from and how much work you put in. For example, he helped me to begin to develop a sound swimming stroke and breathing technique. I can see why many students return to The Kennedy Swim Technique Centre for more lessons. It's hard not to enjoy learning to swim when you're learning with the best.

As if all this was not enough, Jane welcomes you and looks after you with such warmth during your stay that you feel like you're staying with family. What's more, you'll be staying in some very stylishly decorated cottages (Frank and Jane have experience of the antiques business), which, like the tuition itself, are worth the visit alone. Also, the pool has a wonderful, serene atmosphere and is the best I've ever swum in, especially as far as the condition of my skin and hair are concerned. And in case you still have any lingering doubts, I should remind you that the Cotswolds is a heavenly location. In between lessons, I made some very enjoyable visits to places such as Sudeley Castle, Hailes Abbey, Winchcombe Pottery, Broadway Tower, Chipping Campden and several country inns, and all amongst what must be the most beautiful scenery in England.

If you're serious about learning to swim, it's got to be The Kennedy Swim Technique.

Leena Chauhan


I have just spent a magical weekend at Didbrook Fields. Why? Well, it's easier to explain today than it would have been last week!

I have never been a good swimmer; probably because I was never taught properly as a child and because I was afraid to get my face wet! but I have always liked and respected water.

Last September, whilst on holiday in South West France with my family, I had a dreadful experience. My daughter (aged over 30!) and I were standing just above the shoreline watching the sea. There was no way we were going into the sea, as it was much to rough. So there we were, fully clothed, watching the waves, when a wave came and just took me. Just like that. I panicked, my daughter grabbed for me and fortunately my husband saw what had happened and tore across the beach and hauled me out of the water. I was sure I was dead. I was terrified.

Ever since it happened I have not been near water, even watching people in water on television made the hairs on the back of my neck bristle. Every night I would wake up as I re-lived the nightmare - nightmare of that sea covering my head and taking me away.

The initial telephone to The Kennedy Swim Technique Centre took some courage, but not as much courage as the telephone call to arrange lessons. The weekend before I was due to start my visit we were in the Didbrook Fields area and called in to meet Frank and Jane - I felt like a naughty child in front on the headmaster - I was scared.

The day I started my lessons, I made myself comfortable in the warm, cosy Hayloft, tried to relax. At the appointed time I presented myself in the swimming pool - terrified!

Frank was wonderful, he is so positive and understanding, just being in the water with him gave me a kind of confidence - it was wonderful. At the end of the lesson, just 45 minutes, I was totally elated - I could not believe what I had achieved. I was actually able to move under water, put my face in water, pick up the 'octopus' from the bottom of the pool! This was me - who 45 minutes ago would not even get my face wet. I just couldn't believe it.

My second lesson on that Friday was even more rewarding, I did things that I had never even dreamt of doing. It was brilliant.

I went to bed happy, tired but happy, and I'm sure I had a big grin on my face even as I fell asleep. And I did sleep. I woke in the morning and realised that there had been no nightmares. I just couldn't wait to get back into the pool.

I have now been home for two days and still no nightmares, and still the grin on my face. I feel wonderful, a new person. I have achieved, what was for me, the impossible. Do I have any regrets? Just two:

  1. I should have done it 50 years ago and,
  2. I should have stayed at Didbrook Fields for a week.

My thanks go to Jane for making me feel so at home and relaxed in that lovely cottage, and to Frank for all the confidence he has given me and for his teaching skills that have given me a new dimension in my life.
Thank you.


Margaret, Northamptonshire


Dear Frank,
I just wanted to write with my thanks to you for all the help you gave to me and Pauline during the weekend of 27th July. We were both very nervous but your method of teaching was most helpful to us. I had certainly never been able to put my face, let alone my head, into water before and found it a whole new experience.

Teaching us to take a deep breath first meant I could see under water for the first time and when I picked up the frog from the bottom of the pool as an exercise I felt so pleased with myself. It was hard work as I was probably very unfit to start with, but the feeling it gives you of being in control with yourself in the water makes it all so worth while.

The accommodation was superb and Jane was there to welcome us and explain about the sessions in the pool. It is in a lovely location with lots of interesting places to go and lots to see, and having lovely weather was the icing on the cake.The cottage was very comfortable with everything needed for a weekend away.

I am extremely grateful to you for your encouragement and praise when I achieved swimming a length. It was a wonderful feeling that can never be taken away. I now feel much happier about going swimming in the knowledge that I can relax my head into the water without fear, can float and glide easily and swim a length.

Thank you most sincerely for the informative weekend and I wish you every success for the future.

Best wishes to you both

Gloria Darbourne


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