The Sonning Common Pool has been a vital local resource for nearly fifty years. It is one of only a very few trainer pools in South Oxfordshire. It is a community hub which provides essential life skills, inclusive physical activity, therapeutic support and local employment. It currently attracts 750 weeks users from the school and the surrounding community. In the last five years alone, more than 40 local people have volunteered, trained, or worked at the pool. The pool has always attracted swim schools and children from the local villages and from Caversham, and adult swimmers too. The pool now needs considerable expenditure to maintain it and to make it viable for the next generation of swimmers.
The pool is located on the grounds of Sonning Common Primary School and is managed and operated on a not-for-profit basis by the school. As the Pool receives no funding, it relies entirely on income from swimming lessons and community bookings. Unfortunately, this does not generate reserves for such major upgrades as are now required. No major refurbishment has taken place for 20 years. The tiles in the pool are cracked and deteriorating and the surrounding flooring is no longer fit for purpose. These safety issues are escalating, putting users at risk. The fixtures, tiles and flooring are outdated and no longer fit for purpose. An investment in modern surfaces and fittings will allow us to safely maintain and extend access for vulnerable groups within the community.
We are reaching out to local businesses and to sports and other funding bodies, but we also need your help.
We hope that many of you will have good memories of your children learning to swim here, and we can assure you that every penny raised will contribute to us continuing to offer this vital community resource, many years into the future.
Even the smallest donation will be well used, and in some cases donations will be matched by contributions from national bodies (we are applying to Sport England). f you are able to make a larger donation we would obviously like to acknowledge that, perhaps by way of a permanent donations board featuring our sponsors and donors. Please contact us on this address if you would like to discuss this.
If you are employed, ahead of donating, please ask consider if your employer will match this contribution.
Please help us to keep our community swimming!