FAQ

British Swim School has partnered with hotel and fitness-center pools by design since 1981, across more than 500 locations. It keeps overhead low, which means smaller classes and no long waitlists, and it puts us inside communities rather than in a single retail plaza. Our Burr Ridge pool is indoor and heated year-round, with a dedicated lesson area separated by a lane line and lessons scheduled deliberately for the pool’s quietest hours.

Occasionally, yes — but not in our space. A lane line separates the swim lesson area from the rest of the pool, giving instructors and swimmers a dedicated area for the full lesson. We also schedule lessons for the pool’s lowest-traffic hours, so in practice most lessons run with few or no hotel guests in the water at all. Your swimmer stays in the lesson area with their instructor from start to finish.

The pool is about 15 yards long, with a shallow end of 3 feet — where all beginner and toddler classes take place — and a deep end of 5 feet, used for advanced stroke levels, so there’s nowhere in the pool that’s over most adults’ heads. It’s indoor and heated year-round, typically running 85–89°F and never dropping below 82°F — warm enough for young swimmers to stay comfortable through a full lesson, without older swimmers overheating during stroke work.

We use private changing tents on the pool deck, plus a bathroom on the deck for changing. There are no communal locker rooms or showers at this location — and a lot of our families tell us they prefer it that way. Changing a small child in a busy shared locker room isn’t most parents’ favorite part of the trip, and self-conscious older kids often find a private tent easier than a room full of strangers. It also keeps the visit short — a typical trip here is about 45 minutes door to door, against the 75 or 80 it takes at a larger facility once you add the walk in, the locker room, and the queue for a shower.

Lessons currently run four days a week at our Burr Ridge pool: Sundays 12:00–4:00 PM, Mondays 4:00–7:00 PM, Wednesdays 3:00–7:00 PM, and Thursdays 3:00–7:00 PM. Check our website or the app for the exact class schedule by level.

Take the online swim assessment at britishswimschool.com/darien-lemont/find-a-lesson — about two minutes, matching your swimmer’s age and experience to the right level. From there you’ll see live class times at our Burr Ridge pool and can enroll directly. Or call (630) 242-2004 or email [email protected] and we’ll place your swimmer for you.

Year-round, indoors, including through winter. We don’t use fixed sessions, so you can start any time and your swimmer keeps the same weekly slot and instructor instead of re-registering every few months. Skills fade fast with months off, which is why we don’t stop in the off-season.

Sooner than most parents expect. Children can begin water acclimation at 3 months old, and there’s no developmental reason to wait. Drowning is a leading cause of unintentional death for children ages 1 to 4 in the United States, and the skills that prevent it — rolling to a back float, finding the wall, controlling breathing — are learnable well before a child can swim a stroke. Starting early also means your swimmer never develops a fear of water to unlearn later.

Three concrete differences.

1. Sequence: we teach survival floating and breathing before stroke technique, so a swimmer is safe in the water before they’re fast in it.
2. Range: we start at 3 months with no upper age limit, including dedicated teen, adult, and adaptive programs.
3. Scale: our pools are small and indoor rather than large multi-lane facilities, which means quieter lessons and instructors who know every family by name.

We’re a strong fit for families whose first priority is water safety, for swimmers who do better in small, quiet spaces, for infants as young as 3 months, and for teens, adults, and adaptive swimmers most local schools don’t serve.

Yes. We offer a free pool-deck observation, so your swimmer can see the space, meet the staff, and watch a class in action before committing — which for a nervous child often matters more than any amount of description. We also host Splash-a-Palooza events that are open to the public, an easy way to meet our instructors and see how lessons run. Call us and we’ll find the option that suits your family.

Yes. A certified lifeguard is on duty for every lesson, as required — and in practice, coverage is shared so that at any given moment someone is scanning the water rather than teaching in it. Every instructor completes the British Swim School certification program and holds nationally recognized Lifeguarding, CPR, and First Aid certifications, and all instructors pass a background check before entering the water with a swimmer.

Because a child who can float, roll over, and breathe independently is safe in the water before they can swim a lap. We teach water acclimation, then survival floating and breathing, then stroke technique. Teaching strokes first tends to produce quicker visible progress — a swimmer who moves well across the pool early on. But moving well and being safe in an unexpected fall are different skills, and the second one is what we build first.

Most levels run at a maximum 4:1 student-to-instructor ratio. Tadpole and our Stroke Development levels run at a maximum 6:1. Adult classes are 3:1. Instructors are in the water with swimmers for every class.

Group swim lessons are $156 per month for one 30-minute lesson each week. Adult lessons are $210 per month at a 3:1 ratio, and our Dolphin adaptive aquatics program is $240 per month. There’s a $60 annual membership fee per family, due at enrollment. There’s no long-term contract — enrollment is continuous and month-to-month, so there’s no session-end scramble to re-register and no risk of losing your time slot. We ask for 30 days’ written notice to withdraw, and programs are non-transferable.

We teach swimmers from 3 months old with no upper age limit. Infants and toddlers start in Tadpole, Swimboree, and Seahorse; children 3 to 11 progress through Starfish, Minnow, Turtle, and Shark levels; teens 12 and up have dedicated Young Adult classes; and adults 18 and up have their own beginner-through-advanced program. Our Dolphin adaptive aquatics program serves swimmers of all ages with special abilities.

Swimmers can start as early as 3 months old. British Swim School offers programs designed to build comfort and confidence in the water at every age and every stage, with options for children, teens, and adults.

British Swim School offers programs for every age and every stage, designed to help swimmers build comfort, confidence, and skills in the water as they progress. Programs range from early water acclimation to survival skills and stroke development, with a consistent approach that supports smooth progression.

Lessons are taught in small groups to support focused instruction and individual progress. Student-to-instructor ratios vary by program and skill level, with lower ratios in our water survival lessons and slightly larger groups as swimmers progress into stroke development.

Progress is guided by clear program goals that support steady development over time. Swimmers move at their own pace, with instruction tailored to their individual needs and comfort in the water.

Start by finding your nearest location and taking our quick swim assessment, which helps guide swimmers to the right program based on age, experience, and comfort in the water. From there, you can choose a convenient day and time to complete enrollment online, or reach out to your local team for support.