Making Waves: Strong Start for St George’s Ascot Performance Swimming Programme
St George’s Ascot is celebrating an exceptional first six months of its Performance Swimming Programme, launched in September 2025.
The programme began with eight competitive swimmers and is led by Director of Sport, Sophie Appleby and Head Performance Coach, Nicky Matthews. Early competitive results at the January County Championships highlight the rapid progression of the all-girls team.
Across two championship weekends, the squad recorded:
57 individual swims
41 lifetime best performances
20 finals appearances
4 Gold, 5 Silver and 4 Bronze medals
Five of the eight swimmers have already secured qualifying times for the South East Regional Championships taking place this spring.
The programme integrates on-site pool training within the school day, strength and conditioning sessions and athlete development workshops covering sports psychology and nutrition. Academic timetables are structured to support balance between sport and study.
Alongside these early competitive successes, the programme’s academic approach is already proving equally impactful. Swimmers follow timetables designed to protect curriculum depth while accommodating training demands, ensuring that performance development never comes at the expense of academic ambition. Small class sizes, structured study support and close communication between teaching staff and coaches enable pupils to maintain focus, energy and progress across both environments.
The discipline required for high-performance sport translates directly into the classroom. This dual development reflects the school’s wider philosophy of helping each girl understand how she learns best with an approach that prepares pupils to adapt, reskill and succeed well beyond school.
As a deliberately selective squad, the programme enables close academic monitoring alongside technical coaching, allowing each swimmer to be challenged, supported and known as both an athlete and a learner. Technical sessions, race skills and structured education workshops in nutrition and psychology are integrated into the schedule.
Head, Hannah Fox, explains,
'Our aim is not only to develop faster competitive swimmers, but young women who discover the rewards and friendship of being part of a team, alongside the joy of pushing their boundaries and believing in what they can achieve. From there, they carry the focus and ambition learned in the water into every part of their learning, and into the future.'
With scholarships offering a fee remission of up to 70% available and Swim England club affiliation, the programme offers a distinctive pathway for female swimmers seeking competitive progression within a nurturing and academically ambitious school environment.
A number of Performance Swimming Scholarships have been awarded for 2026 entry, with applications remaining open for 2026 and beyond.
March 2026