BIRMINGHAMTHEBLUECOATSCHOOL1722

On Saturday, Mr Brookes and Mr Moore took 6 pupils down to the London Aquatic Centre to compete in the IAPS National Championships 2024. 

In the heats, over 120 swimmers competed to determine the fastest swimmers; only the fastest 20 swimmers from each event would progress to the final. Our swimmers performed amazingly, smashing all of their personal bests and representing our School in the best way possible.

In the morning, during the Year 5 50-metre butterfly race, Tom was awarded 7th place which meant he qualified for the final. When the final arrived, Tom swam phenomenally well, knocking 1.50 seconds off his personal best and finishing 7th once again.

A pupil performs butterfly during the IAPS swimming qualifiers.
A young girl tries her hardest during the IAPS swimming qualifying gala hosted at The Blue Coat School, Birmingham.

In the afternoon, it was time for the girls to step up and make a splash. Alice, Flo, Summer and Ava-Mae made up the team of Year 5s that competed in both the 4x25m freestyle relay and the 4x25m medley relay. Mr Brookes and Mr Moore were delighted with how the girls swam, finishing 12th in the freestyle relay and 10th in the medley relay. In both races, the girls performed so well that they managed to swim faster than they ever have before, knocking 7 seconds off their medley time and 5 seconds off their freestyle time. A fantastic display of swimming! 

However, the girls’ time in the pool wasn’t over yet as Alice, Flo and Ava-Mae also competed in individual races. Alice’s butterfly race earned her 5th place, swimming 4 seconds faster than her personal best, Flo’s breaststroke race awarded her 13th place and 2.3 seconds faster than her personal best and Ava-Mae’s freestyle efforts bestowed 18th place and knocked 1 second off her personal best. A great effort by all three girls!

A pupil competes in the IAPS swimming qualifiers where various schools competed for a spot in the IAPS finals.
A Year 5 pupils perseveres during the IAPS swimming qualifiers in order to secure BCS a place in the IAPS finals.

Last but not least, Amadora (Year 6) competed in her breaststroke final and earned herself the 4th place spot only 0.12 seconds off scoring the 3rd place. She knocked 4 seconds off her qualifying time and performed amazingly in her race. 

We are so incredibly proud of our IAPS swimmers who performed so well under pressure; they have made Mr Brookes, Mr Moore and the entirety of BCS very proud. Well done all!

A young girl does the butterfly stroke as part of the IAPS qualifiers hosted at The Blue Coat School, Birmingham.
As part of the IAPS swimming qualifiers, a pupil swims the butterfly stroke in order to secure a place in the IAPS finals.