LONDON — Many black Britons still cannot swim 25 metres unaided, and the gap is large enough to raise concerns about safety as well as access to sport. Figures compiled by Swim England from a survey of 4,500 people suggest 67% of black women and 44% of black men in England cannot swim that distance, compared with 17% of white women and 12% of white men.
The issue is not limited to one community. Swim England’s data also point to lower swimming ability among poorer people, Muslims, people of South Asian descent and children known to social care. But black swimmers and would-be swimmers remain especially under-represented in the pool, even though swimming is meant to be part of school education in England and Northern Ireland.
The result, campaigners say, is that a basic life skill is still out of reach for too many people.
Why long-standing myths about buoyancy still matter
One persistent idea is that black people have denser bones and therefore float less easily. That claim was challenged in 2023 by the University of Portsmouth, the RNLI and the Black Swimming Association, who said everyone can float and tested one of the most repeated myths around black swimmers.
The Portsmouth study found bone density did not predict whether a person could float. Of the 101 participants, 89 floated unassisted for two minutes. The researchers said the science does not support the old stereotype, which has circulated for generations and has been reinforced by racist assumptions in parts of the English-speaking world.
Alice Dearing, the Olympic swimmer and Black Swimming Association co-founder, says some black people have internalised the belief that they cannot swim. Heather Massey, a University of Portsmouth physiology professor involved in the study, says correcting that misinformation matters because people may dismiss a skill that could one day save their life.
Family experience and class can shape confidence in the water
For many children, swimming begins at home. If parents already swim, children are more likely to see water as familiar and safe. But in families where adults never learned, children may grow up treating pools, rivers and the sea as something to avoid rather than enjoy.
That pattern came through repeatedly in the accounts described in the BBC report. Nathaniel Cole, co-founder of Swim Dem Crew, says he has coached children whose parents could not swim and were reluctant to enter the pool themselves. He says that can turn swimming into something associated with danger, not fun.
Class and location also matter. Kevin Hylton, emeritus professor of equality and diversity in sport at Leeds Beckett University, says his own childhood in a working-class Caribbean family offered little leisure time and few opportunities outside school. He argues the difference for many families is less about ethnicity than income and proximity to facilities.
Pool closures, deprivation and hair concerns add to the barriers
Access to water has become harder in many places. Swim England and ukactive say more than 500 public swimming pools have closed across the UK since 2010, with almost half of those closures since 2020. The charity says one-fifth of local authorities are now “water deprived”, meaning they do not have enough pool space for their population.
Sport England figures underline the deprivation gap. Among children and young people in the most deprived areas, 47% can swim 25 metres, compared with 69% in the least deprived areas. Swim England also found that in the most deprived neighbourhoods, 73% of adults overall could swim 25 metres, but only 38% of black adults could do so.
There are also practical cultural barriers. In a 2023 Black Swimming Association survey, 33% of black British respondents said hair concerns put them off swimming. The organisation said standard swimming caps often do not suit longer, thicker afro hair, braids, dreadlocks or twists with extensions.
Poor swimming ability is linked to child drowning risk and missed lessons
The consequences can be severe. England’s National Child Mortality Database found black children were more than three times as likely to drown as white children between 2019 and 2025. It also found children living in the most deprived areas faced more than double the risk of those in the least deprived areas.
Royal Life Saving Society UK data quoted in the report show that 71% of children who drowned had been known to social care at some point in their lives, regardless of race. Kevin Hylton says more research is needed to understand why that group is so heavily represented in drowning cases.
Campaigners also warn that many children do not get enough chance to build confidence after primary school lessons. Swimming is part of the curriculum, but some schools struggle with the cost of transport and coaching. Coaches such as Omie Dale say early, repeated lessons can change how children see the water, especially when they can see people like themselves succeeding in it.
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