Berlin swims on the road to success: 24% of third graders without a badge!
Berlin swims on the road to success: 24% of third graders without a badge!
Fortunately, the swimming skills of the Berlin elementary school students have improved. In the school year 2023/2024, around 24% of third graders had no swimming badge in bronze or the seahorse badge. For comparison: In the previous years, this proportion was almost 25% (2022/2023) and around 36% (2021/2022) without a badge. These developments are not only observed by school, but also by specialist organizations that analyze the general swimming capacity of children in Germany.
However, the situation in certain districts remains particularly alarming. In Lichtenberg, 34.8%of third graders had no badge, followed by Neukölln (34.7%) and Spandau (30.6%). These odds are particularly worrying because they were sometimes over 50% in the school year 2020/2021. In contrast, districts such as Steglitz-Zehlendorf with 11% and Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf show improved results with 15.8%.swimming as an important ability
According to the German Life Rescue Society (DLRG), the proportion of children who classify themselves as a safe swimmer is given as 57%, which has decreased slightly compared to 2017 (59%). However, it turns out that many parents incorrectly believe that a child who has the seahorse can swim. The seahorse only certifies the control of basic swimming techniques, while a safe swimming is only given with the bronze badge, the so-called free swimmer.
The DLRG continues to estimate that 58% of the children are not a safe swimmer at the end of primary school. The proportion of children without a swimming badge, which their parents are classified as safe or insecure, is also worrying - this is 21%. This information illustrates the discrepancy between the perception of the parents and the reality of their children's swimming skills.
Follow the Corona pandemic and bathing loss
The situation is additionally tightened by the closures of swimming pools and the restrictions during Corona pandemic. During this time there was no swimming lessons, which led to an increase in non -swimmers. According to a Forsa survey, the proportion of non-swimmers among elementary school students in Germany has doubled over the past five years. In 2022, 20% of the children between six and ten years could not swim while in 2017 it was 10%.
The DLRG President Ute Vogt emphasizes that every child should be able to swim safely at the end of the primary school. Some factors are decisive: access to swimming lessons is often limited in low -income households, as statistics show. Among children from households with a net income of less than 2500 euros, 49% cannot swim, while in children from households with over 4000 euros.
The trends that are emerging in relation to swimming lessons and skills are worrying, and both schools and municipalities are required to take appropriate measures. Free intensive courses in the school holidays could be a step in the right direction.
For more information on swimming skills and their development in Germany, you can report the reports of rbb24 href = "https://www.dlrg.de/informieren/die-dlrg/presse/schwimffaehheit/"> dlrg and the Süddeutsche Zeitung Read.
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| Ort | Berlin, Deutschland |
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