Start each lesson with a warm-up and finish with some exciting games (see our Training section). Students should bring three unlined clothing layers (base, middle, outer), as used in canoeing, coasteering, sailing or other adventure sports. These are required throughout each lesson.

Water Safety (1-6)

1. Water Safety Code & Guidelines
   1. Safety at Home
   2. Swimming Pools
   3. Drowning Chain and Causes
2. Open Water
   1. Lakes, Rivers and Canals
   2. Beach Safety and Flags
   3. Adventure Sports
   4. Boating
3. Swimming Techniques
   1. Lifesaving Swimming Strokes
   2. Swimming in Clothes
   3. Effect of Clothing Layers

Aquatic Skills (7-12)

1. Warm-up and Stretching
   1. Push-ups
   2. Sit-ups
   3. Five Star Jump
2. Lifesaving Swimming Strokes
   1. Backstroke
   2. Breaststroke
   3. Front Crawl
   4. Sidekick
3. Swimming Techniques
   1. Entries and Exits
   2. Surface Diving
   3. Swimming Underwater
   4. Buoyancy Aids & Lifevests
4. Inflatable Boats
5. Water Games

Survival and Self Rescue (13-18)

1. Survival Principles
2. Survival Equipment
   1. Buoyancy Aids & Lifevests
3. Cold Water & Hypothermia
4. Signals
5. Weeds, weirs, quicksand and mud
6. Sea Swimming
   1. Drownproofing
   2. Tides, currents and waves
   3. Rip Currents

1. Warm-up and Stretching
2. Personal Flotation devices
3. Survival Skills
   1. Drownproofing
   2. Falling in
   3. Floating
   4. HELP & HUDDLE positions
   5. Removal and adding of clothing
   6. Buoyancy Aids & Lifevests
4. Water Games

Ongoing Training

You may want to use the skills above for a continuous training session or a holding class if you have a waiting list. Research in Japan has shown that swimming in clothes provides about twice the muscle building effect by increasing VO₂Max levels than can be achieved with regular swimming.

Lifesaving Bronze Medallion

The above survival swimming course represents the first half of the RLSS Bronze Medallion. You can now proceed to the Rescue Skills and Resuscitation parts to complete your qualification.