Week 1 & 2 When I initially found out that we would be participating in swimming this term I was quite anxious. I can swim, but not very competently. I was also quite anxious about how my peers may judge my body and swimming etc. This was completely forgotten  about immediately at the beginning of the first lesson as the teacher briefed us on Respect. We were told this links to the well being indicators. We participated in a number of fun and  enjoyable games that made all of the members of the class far more relaxed in the water, this also built up my confidence as I had not been in the pool in a while. Some members of the class are part of the local "swans" club, therefore the teacher asked that they demonstrate the front crawl, the main focus for the next eight week period. I enjoyed this and learned more than i initially thought from observing my peers such as how their hand hits the water like an arrow. The coach observed us as we swam during games and gave us the odd tip or cue that may help us at that moment, however we were told that we would cover everything from keeping ourselves afloat to swimming a width of the pool, so not to worry ourselves.

Week 3 & 4 At the beginning of this week, we practised a technique caused Sculling. The coach gave us a clear demonstration from the edge of the pool of how to move our hands in an "S" shape under water and kick our legs. One of my peers was able to do it from her own swimming lessons and she showed me and helped me to achieve this. The coach also reinforced that this may benefit us outside of school if we were ever in deeper waters. I found the most difficult part of this to be my breathing as if my head came close to the water at all i was instantly holding my breath. The following week we moved onto this and how to continue to scull if your head does go under water. Cues for this that the teacher told us was to breathe out through your nose, and turn your ear into the water as you take a breath. We were told that this could be transferred over to the front crawl also. I enjoyed that i could now do this and felt a great sense of achievement. This continued as we learned that we must glide through the water if we are to swim most efficiently because there is less resistance against the water if we are like arrows. We practised this by pushing off the wall. This was a very fun activity as i have always seen professional swimmers pushing off the wall like we did in the class.

Week 5 & 6 Perhaps the biggest issue i have had with my front crawl has been rotating at my hips in an unorthodox fashion. I have noticed that when i do this, my legs subsequently sink in the water and i cannot glide. While i probably began doing this from day one, it is an aspect i certainly hope to change over time. This week we worked alot on kicking and keeping your body firm in the water. A cue that i found helpful from my teacher was "keep your core tight" and "squeeze your glutes". By doing this, i did not feel my body sway from side to side as much. In the sixth lesson we focused more on breathing with drills where I would hold onto the wall and turn my head from left to right. I used the cue that i learned in week 2 of "turning your ear to the water" which allowed me more time to breath in and also allowed me not to swallow water as i attempted to breathe in. By the end of the lesson I was able to swim a width of the pool using correct form and technique. I was delighted that i had now learned to breathe correctly and set a new goal of getting faster over certain distances in the coming months.

Week 7 & 8 For the final two weeks, i was certain that i was going to keep improving as i had doe so well over the past weeks. The opportunity to implement my learning at the end was incredibly enjoyable and also beneficial. The culminating event allowed for an authentic learning experience as it acted as a mini swimming gala. This allowed me to apply my learning to a mini competition of sorts which i achieved in maintaining my breathing and keeping my hips firm. While initially I was incredibly anxious, I am now far more confident in the water and my swimming has progressed to a great extent.  As a whole, this was by far my favourite topic in PE this year and i hope to continue my learning within swimming outside of school.