A six-year-old boy has taken to the water confidently - thanks to special lessons at Alsager Leisure Centre.

Gabriel recently started the Alpha Step Swim classes at the leisure centre . On his first lesson, he needed to be held constantly by his teacher Molly, and he wasn't confident in the water or in his surroundings.

But now four lessons later, he's floating on his back, kicking his legs and using a shark fin for buoyancy and he has even managed to swim independently.

"This is a huge leap forward in his physical ability and has helped him feel much happier in the water," said a spokesperson from Everybody Everybody Health & Leisure who run the leisure centre. 

"Gabriel has become so much more confident in the water in a short space of time, his teacher Molly says that he really enjoys splashing around and learning new skills." 

Gabriel's mum, Lucinda, described the swimming sessions as 'fab' and said: "It's amazing what Molly has got him doing already. They make such a beautiful pair."

The Alpha Step sessions are a 10-week block of water confidence/pool sessions, for young people with a disability or additional need, to encourage children to be more relaxed, have fun whilst developing basic safety awareness and swimming capability.

Once swimmers have completed the 10 weeks, they will have the opportunity to progress onto Alpha Swim Scheme stages 1-4.

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If you know someone who might be interested in the Alpha Step or Alpha Splash Sessions, you can find out more on the Everybody website here .

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