The Power Of After-School Activities Part 1: ISB's Swim Program

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What happens after school is just as important...

Real learning happens all the time, inside and outside of the classroom. Thus, what a school offers in terms of co-curricular activities or extra curricular activities after the school bell rings for the last time in a day, should be taken into consideration as much as its curriculum. But with such a plethora of after school activities available these days, which ones should we pick? Two international schools choose one of their after-school programs to talk about at length, to elucidate us on its benefits.

*For the sake of brevity, we have decided to feature each school in separate WeChat posts.

Director of Activities Simon Parker and Aquatics Director Nic Wilson at the International School of Beijing (ISB) spill the deal on their Swim program.

Tell us about the Swim program and what makes it attractive for students to join.

The ISB Swim program offers each student an opportunity to learn swimming, water safety and other aquatics disciplines in physical education classes.

As well as our curriculum offerings, the after-school swimming program provides opportunities for swimmers to develop further, with early years ‘Learn to Swim’ offerings as part of the ASA program, as well as development and competitive offerings, both regionally and internationally, in our year-round ISB Swim Academy. There are also seasonal swim opportunities for Elementary School (Season 1), Middle School (Season 3) and High School (Season 2), with the jewel in the crown for the High School swim team being the APAC Championships each year.

The swimming program fosters a caring and supportive environment. Students feel comfortable in specially designed programs that are differentiated, not only to motivate excellence, but also to allow all students to reach goals and their full unique potential.

How would you describe and rate ISB’s facilities and teaching support for swimming?

ISB has a world class swimming facility, which has been designed to allow for its diverse aquatic offerings, and fully supports all aspects of the program, from early years swimming to the hosting of major international swim meets.

Our dedicated Aquatics department, consisting of our Aquatics Director and 4 full-time swimming instructors, offers professional coaching and instruction to our ISB community. The collective international teaching and coaching experience of this group allows us to support and guide our swimmers in all areas of their swimming experience, whether a beginner or an elite performer.

What awards or certifications has this program and its students received over the years?

It is important to emphasize that accolades and awards are not the focus of any of the sporting programs at the school, and all participation at any level is centered around the core ideals of "Commitment, Respect and Fun." We strongly believe that when we do these things well, all our Dragons will experience success, in one way or another.

Over recent years, our ISB swimmers have shared some very special achievements, either individually, or as part of the larger team group:

In the 2018-19 academic year, based on meet results and times across the year, ISB was declared the #1 International School Swim Team in the world, by the International School Aquatics association.

Over the COVID Pandemic period ISB was instrumental in developing a unique virtual swimming competition opportunity (Global Virtual All Stars), where swim programs from around the world competed in their own pools, with results being combined to achieve overall standings. ISB ended up as the winners in this global showpiece, that brought together more than 30 schools from around the world.

The ISB HS Swim Team has won an unprecedented 18 APAC (Asia Pacific Athletic Conference) titles since the competition began.

In contrast, read about the benefits of a creative after-school activity in part 2 tomorrow!

Images: ISB

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