angelasswimschool.co.uk Reviews 43

My son who is on the autism spectrum has been attending lessons for a few months now at your Shepherds Bush location with Frieda she is a lovely teacher gentle and caring and always adapting her teaching technics to my sons ability ,he really enjoys learning and looks forward to the lessons.
Also Marinam the receptionist is always very warm and welcoming which overall makes it a nice experience for my son when attending the lessons

Carmen

A family member had a positive experience with this company, so I decided to try them out. Unfortunately, my own experience hasn't been as fulfilling.As a newcomer, I believe that consistency is essential, but my child had four different instructors over the past six weeks. This inconsistency in teaching methods has made it challenging for him to make progress. Each instructor was wonderful, but the lack of continuity was disappointing.Additionally, the scheduling was recently altered, leading to a confusing situation. I was asked if I would be open to a later time slot, allowing my child to learn alongside peers at the same level. While I understand the reasoning, the approach felt unprofessional and left me feeling frustrated. I've continued with classes as we prepaid for the term, but I plan on exploring other options for the next term.

Great sessions! Nariman and Taylor are so lovely and Taylor is a great instructor!

Do not use this company. Look them up on companies house they have put the company in to administration in July. We have a different teacher every week, they don’t know what level my daughter is so half the lesson is wasted whilst they catch up. They sent the same level badge three times, and it took 3 months to get the correct one. They cancel lessons at the last minute and don’t refund the cost. The teachers when they turn up a don’t care, they openly say how bad the company is to work for. I have asked for a refund but they haven’t even bothered to acknowledge any email I sent them.

Terrible customer service and rip off customers!!!
We paid for a term's course - they included a date in our original booking that was never meant to be included as the pool was closed on that day. Sent me an email and told me I hadn't been charged for it. I told them I had. They absolutely refused to give me a refund for the lesson, even though it should NEVER have been charged for in the first place. Absolute rip off swim school. Lessons are cancelled last minute and then only given 8 weeks to rebook onto a different time. Ridiculous. Will never rebook with them again.

I would not recommend this swim school at all. Inconsist teachers, teachers who are rude, harsh and display a strong dislike for their job&children. I have not liked the way they spoke to my son and did not show nearly enough encouragement for any child participating in the lesson. It has been a constant battle to get my son to go, so we have finally made the decision to leave and we are all relieved.

Was offered lessons through a charity who support us with our autistic son. If you are collaborating with a charity for disabled children, you need to know how teach them. It was meant to be 1-2-1, but the first two weeks he was in group lessons. He wasn’t changed to 1-2-1 until we complained through their email and our charity who were paying for the lessons. He then had multiple different instructors with no consistency at all, none of them knew what level he was at, what he could do or what to teach him. The lady who rang us when we complained made excuse after excuse about the reason for the changes.

The last email we had from them was after we said we were taking our son out of classes as the constant changes were causing him anxiety (change anxiety is common in autistic people which they would know if they did 5 minutes research) and he was hating going. The email we got back was they couldn’t help staff being sick. Which is a load of rubbish, just another excuse. They did not reply to my final email to them which called them out for their excuses and terrible treatment of my son and us.

We haven’t even had an apology from them.

If you have a neurodiverse child, don’t use this company. They have no idea how to teach them and they certainly don’t care if they are causing psychological harm to the child. Awful.

The company was recommended to me by a family member who had a good experience with them. Unfortunately my own experience has been disappointing.

As a beginner I feel consistency is key, but my child has a 4 different instructors in the last 6 weeks, making it difficult for him to progress, as each instructor uses slightly different techniques. The individual instructors have all been lovely, but it’s a shame they are not consistent.

Furthermore the slot times have recently been changed, which was a complete shambles! I was asked if I would be happy with a later time slot, so my child could be in a lesson with others at the same level. Although I understand the reason behind this, the way I was approached was very unprofessional and left me feeling angry and upset. I have continued with lessons as the term was paid for in advance, but I am planning to book elsewhere next term.

I recently had an extremely disappointing experience with Angela Swim School and felt compelled to share my thoughts to prevent others from making the same mistake. Despite their enticing marketing and higher prices, the service provided was abysmal. It became evident that their primary focus was solely on extracting as much money as possible from customers, with little regard for the quality of service they offered.

Throughout my time with Angela Swim School, I encountered numerous issues that left me deeply dissatisfied.

This is the last incident that occurred when my children were transferred from a different time slot. Despite having ample time to review their records, the staff failed to properly assign them to the appropriate classes, after they made the class time change. Moving a class from 5.30 to 5 pm living in Dartford is hell with traffic... They blamed the change on Hilton when it was just a business decision. Asked for a refund they didn't reply went through my bank. But are quick to chase for a term fee 5 months in advance.

Moreover, there were frequent complaints about the high turnover rate of instructors, resulting in a lack of consistency and stability for the students. Additionally, despite paying for badges and certificates, the school couldn't even be bothered to write the children's names on them, reflecting a disregard for attention to detail and customer satisfaction. The boys were given the wrong badges and took a new teacher after 8 months to correct the error.

In hindsight, I deeply regret sticking with Angela Swim School for five long years. Had I known earlier, I would have promptly sought out a more reputable establishment where my children could have thrived and progressed much further in their swimming abilities. It's truly disheartening to think of the valuable time and resources wasted on a subpar experience that ultimately hindered my children's development. Save yourself the trouble and steer clear of Angela Swim School.

Our daughter has been taking part in swimming lessons at the Battle Abbey pool for just over 3 years now, and the progress she has made is just phenomenal!

Our daughter had attended 2 other swim schools prior to starting with Angela's, and had made limited progress. The support and dedication from the staff at Angela's has had so much impact on our daughter, and she is now a beautiful swimmer to watch. The breathing techniques that have been demonstrated and shown to her has improved her swimming so much.

Last week, I watched her glide through the water for 6 lengths, and it was the proudest moment ever! Thank you Angela's for the difference you have made to our daughter. She has gone from an anxious little girl into a confident and beautiful swimmer. Special shout to Lorraine, who saw her potential from the very beginning and builds her confidence up every week.

(Connie's Mum)

I was made to feel so comfortable and relaxed. I was lucky to have the same instructor (Katie) for the 4 days crash course held at Bromley High School.
Anything I needed expntion on Katie explained and even demonstrated with a huge smile. She has a big heart. As such my confidence was sky high and I learned a few tips.

Terrible company. Only 3 lessons give for 4 year old out of 5 booked. Due to pool closure twice and once cancellation with no explanation. Company refuse to give refund and insist parent books a new 12 week course to use the 'credits'.
How many of these will be cancelled?.. rip off!!

Really really good. Both my boys enjoy it and have come so far in learning how to swim with Angela swim school. The teachers who teach them are brilliant and very encouraging.
I definitely recommend.
😊

Both of my children are progressing well and have made a connection with their instructors. Admin keep you updated on important information. Friendly staff and coordinators.

I have 2 children with special needs who have been in other swim schools who have not been able to work with them. The swim instructor at Angela’s swim school works so well with my TWO children. Understanding their needs and giving them simple but firm instructions for them to understand; my kids look forward to their lessons with her. I highly recommend to parents who want lessons for their kids who are highly knowledgeable and understand your kids needs.

We have been using Angela's swim school at the great danes Hotel maidstone since May 2023. Initially the lessons where absolutely fantastic when Gemma and her father where running the lessons however without any notice we where informed just before Christmas that they would no longer be running the lessons however I had just renewed for the following term and paid nearly £400 for my sons this was very frustrating nevertheless we continued to use Angela's swim school with the new instructors well that was an absolute disaster there was no structure to the lessons especially my 4 year old not only that they spent very little time swimming and where taking it in turns to swim which meant during a 30 minute lesson my children where only swimming for around 5 minutes. My 4 year old son who had been swimming without arm bands for almost a year had been told he now has to wear them which I challenged multiple times so during the lesson the children would be swimming with armbands which completely defeats the object. The instructor just shouted alot and did not seem to have a good repour with the children so much so my sons didn't enjoy joy swimming anymore and I was unhappy with the very little progress being made. I sent an email to head office raising my concern I then received a very rude phone call from Head office telling me that there is nothing wrong with the swimming lessons, I won't be getting a refund on the remainder of the term and that I should just deal with the fact that new people had taken over the lessons. I did not feel i was able to get my concerns across and felt I was being patrenised this was extremely un professional and I was completely disgusted by the attitude from head office. I would never recommend using this company and we have now enrolled our children into Swim! Which is absolutely brilliant and a fraction of the price.

Really good structured lessons. My one year old daughter absolutely loves the lessons at Oakhysrt.

We have 4 children that go to Angela’s swim school. The older two (8 and 3) have really enjoyed their lessons at hilltop school thus far. We also attend Cecil road in dartford for parent and baby with our twins. The babies love it and I have actually enjoyed attending the classes as well.

All 4 of my children have lessons at 2 different locations and all of them love it and look forward to coming back each week. Definitely recommend!

My daughter is one of Neil’s students at Hampstead, and she’s constantly looking forward to Swimming Lessons with him. Under his guidance, she’s become more comfortable in the water and making consistent progress with every passing week. Thanks, Neil!