So you want to learn how to swim? You'd better come back in two years

CHILDREN in parts of Scotland are waiting nearly two years for swimming lessons, a situation that has been branded "unacceptable" by an MSP.

Some pools in the Highlands have a three-month waiting list, but parents are being told their children face a "worst-case scenario" of waiting up to 24 months before getting a place.

In Aberdeen, 362 youngsters are waiting for lessons, and in Dundee the list is restricted to 50 and often full.

Perth and Kinross Leisure has a waiting list of up to nine months for non-swimmers and less for those with some ability, while Edinburgh and Glasgow have no-one on waiting lists.

The potential two-year waiting list at Inverness Aquadome is the longest of Scotland's cities.

Local MSP Danny Alexander said it added weight to a campaign for a new pool to be built at a planned campus for the prospective University of the Highlands and Islands.

He said he would be clarifying how many children have had to wait so long for lessons, and what exactly in the system was causing lessons not to keep pace with demand from parents.

The MSP added: "If – as seems likely – the major constraint is the facilities at the Aquadome, this strengthens the case for a new pool to be an early feature of the proposed university campus in Inverness.

"It would bring a big and immediate benefit to the whole community and become the foundation for a positive relationship between UHI and people from all over the Highland capital."

Mhairi Burns, the activities development officer at Inverness Leisure which runs the Aquadome, said that more than 2,000 children a week received swimming lessons.

She said: "My team and I are extremely proud of our track record in teaching literally tens of thousands of children to swim."

Ms Burns believes Inverness Leisure is the only facility in Scotland offering online registration and tracking of swimming lesson waiting lists. It means parents can register a child online and follow their progress through the waiting list in order to gauge when their child or children will be given a place.

She added: "We are currently telling customers that on placing their child on our list, they will wait approximately 24 months before they get a place." While the system gave a date when the child would reach the top of the list, they could be taken earlier.

A Highland Council spokesman said: "Achieving a balance between pool time for lessons, public swimming and club use is a challenge and is under review on an ongoing basis."

Kirsten Phillips, spokeswoman for Swimming Scotland, said: "In terms of two-year waiting lists, it's not what we want to hear in any way, shape or form. We are very keen to work with pool providers and leisure facilities to try to help programme water time to be as flexible as possible.

"Swimming is a sport people are very keen to do, and it can help save someone's life."