Peter Bargh

Wisewood junior school used Hillsborough swimming baths for swimming lessons. At the baths, now a Weatherspoons pub called Rawson Spring, we could earn swimming certificates, starting  at 25 yards.  Public baths at that time were built to the imperial standard before metrication (25 yards = 22.86 metres).

Here’s how swimming certificates typically worked in the 25 yard pool of the 60s:

Beginner / Learner Certificate

• Swim the width of the pool
  
• Often allowed any stroke
  
• Sometimes included:
  
  • Jumping in safely
    
  • Basic floating
    

25 Yard Certificate

• Swim 1 full length (25 yards) without stopping
  
• No touching the sides
  
• Usually first “official” distance badge
  

50 Yard Certificate

• 2 lengths of a 25-yard pool
  
• Continuous swim
  
• Often required a recognised stroke
  

100 Yard Certificate

• 4 lengths
  
• Demonstrated stamina
  
• Usually breaststroke or front crawl
  

Higher Distance Awards

Some pools including ours offered:

• 200 yards
  
• 400 yards
  
• 1/2 mile (880 yards)
  
• 1 mile (1760 yards) endurance badge
  
  (Very popular achievement award in the 1950s–70s)