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The swimming test (Story)


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Posted by wetchas on September 28, 2022 at 08:47:55


Having read the 'School Uniform' thread down below, I was inspired to write this story. I hope you like it.

The Swimming Test.

We've got to take a change of clothes into school tomorrow for a swimming lesson, announced Jake Walters over the tea table. What have you got to take, asked his mother, trackies and T shirt? Better than that said Jake, read this. He handed his Mother a crumpled piece of paper. She read it aloud.

Dear Parent/Guardian, it read.

Due to a cancellation, we have been fortunate enough to secure the pool at the Deanscroft Naval Base for and hour or so on Weds (18th) morning. It has been decided that classes 10 and 10a will use this time to undertake some survival swimming and lifesaving practice. The classes will be led by CPO Malc James, and a couple of Naval ratings.

As you are probably aware, much of this lesson involves swimming in clothes. We have taken the decision to ask that School Uniform be worn for this lesson, namely Trousers Shirt and Jumper for the boys, and Skirt, Blouse and Jumper for the girls. Swimwear will need be worn underneath the clothes. The reasoning for asking this, is that we want the lesson to replicate as close as possible a real life situation. We also want a 'level playing field' and having everybody dressed the same goes some way to achieving this.

A coach will leave the school gates at 10.00am, returning to school for 12.00pm in time for lunch.
Please make sure your student has a good breakfast, and a snack to eat on the coach. Drinks will be provided at the Naval Base.

Thank you.

You make sure you wear what you have got on now, said his Mother. I don't want to have to wash another lot.

After tea, and after he had helped with the dishes, Jake went up to his room. He stripped out of his school clothes, but instead of chucking them in the wash he hung them over the back of the chair.
Changing into trackies and a T Shirt he lay back on his bed and checked his phone.

His text and E mail were full of comments from his mates. Many were saying that their Mothers weren't pleased about the School Clothes thing. As one said, School had only started on the 3rd, now some 15 days later they were expected wear nearly new clothes in the pool. Simon Jackson, however texted that he was really looking forward to it, he had a brand new pair of trousers with the label still attached, and an unopened pack of three white shirts. He was going to wear the new trousers and one of the shirts. Isaac Johnson, known as Ike to everyone was complaining that he had been dragged down to Aldi, where a cheap pair of trousers had been purchased. Not having you wearing your M&S ones his mother had said.

Wednesday morning dawned bright and sunny. Jake was awake early. He got up, showered and got dressed. He put on the same uniform from the day before, his mind a whirl as the thought of soaking it later on kept coming to him. He packed his bag with a towel, trousers, shirt, and school jumper, and his school speedos. He also threw in a pair of Adidas Poly sports shorts, in black with the white stripes. It was accepted behaviour, and in actual fact encouraged by the school to wear shorts over swimwear. The only time pure speedos or swimsuits were required was during competitions, and then only by the school swim team. It was thought a good idea to wear some sort of cover otherwise. After all, 30 rampant teenagers in figure hugging swimwear was a recipe for disaster. I won't be home when you get in, his Mother said, I've switched shifts with Debbie, as she has to take her Kid to the dentist. I'll be home about half six ish, I'll bring some Fish & Chips. Do us a favour, put your wet stuff in the machine and start a wash. Oh, and have got a bin liner to put your wet stuff in, you'll have a wet bag otherwise. Jake went to the kitchen drawer and took a bin liner off the roll. At around 8.30am he left the house for the 15 minute walk to school. He was already formulating a plan as he walked. Mum wasn't going to be home until 6.30pm, that meant he had at least a couple of hours for some more wet clothes fun.

Arriving at school, he made his way to the geography room for his first lesson. As the room gradually filled up, he watched his classmates coming in. All were dressed as they should be, the boys in black trousers, white shirts, burgundy school jumpers, and a school tie. The girls uniform was the same except that they were all wearing black skirts. Nobody looked to have 'dressed down' for the day. Jake expected to see some 'old' uniform that was a bit tight or tatty, but no, it all looked very respectable. That might change when they got to the pool, he guessed.

Sean Masters, the geography teacher stood up at the front of the class. Right, he said, I know you are all excited about today, and your minds won't really be on the lesson. So we are going to watch an episode of Simon Reeves travels across India. With that he flicked the projector on and started the programme. A few minutes in Jake found his mind wandering. He started to look around the room, and imagine people soaking wet. He wondered what others were thinking. He looked down at his trousers, and ran his hands along them. Looking at the clock he realised that in a short while he would be at the pool, and only a few minutes away from a soaking. The programme droned on, but he was not really interested. Eventually the credits started rolling. OK, said their teacher, off you go.
Jake picked up his bag and joined the exodus towards the school gates. Parked outside was a double decker bus. Several members of staff were already there, checking pupils onto the bus. Jake found a seat upstairs, next to Isaac Johnson. The bus filled up, and eventually pulled away, making its way towards Deanscroft. Excited chatter filled both decks. Have you got your Aldi trousers on, asked Jake. Yeh, look at them, Isaac replied, they look like the sails on a ship. It had to be said the bottom was a bit wide. Most of the lads had got their Mothers to adapt their school trousers to a more skinny style. Have you seen Jackson's trousers, brand new and still with the tags on. My mum was really cross when she read the letter, why do you need school clothes she moaned. She phoned the school to complain, but everyone had gone home, blimey that would have been embarrassing. What about yours? I think she was a bit surprised Jake replied, but she just told me to wear dirty stuff so that she wouldn't have so much washing. I thought I could smell something, Ike replied. This remark gained Ike a playful punch from Jake. If you have a snack with you, eat it now the class was told.

The bus carried on its short journey, and was soon at the gates of the Naval Base. There it stopped, and an armed guard came to the door. The teacher in charge introduced himself to the guard. He then handed him a list of all the people on the bus. Two other sailors got on, and did a head count, they then compared this to the total on the list, and when happy they directed the driver through the naval base, and over to the pool building. Parking outside, the pupils filed off, and into the lobby of the pool. One of the sailors who had been on the bus directed them to the relevant changing rooms. There are lockers inside, he said, where you can put all your gear. Take the key with you, and put it around you wrist, make sure its on quite tightly. Make sure you use the bog before you come out. Right see you at the poolside.

The lads entered the changing room. Sure enough there were about 30 large lockers along one wall, each with a key hanging in the door. On the other wall was an entrance to a huge shower, well big enough to get them all in at once. At one end was a huge toilet area, with urinals and ordinary toilets. They each selected a locker, and took the key.

Jake kicked off his shoes and removed his socks. He pulled of his tie and emptied his pockets into his bag. Then he dropped his trousers and pants, and pulled his speedos and shorts on. Pulling his trousers back on again made him feel very excited. It wasn't the done thing to look too closely in the changing rooms, but from the quick glances he got he could tell he wasn't the only one. He locked the locker, taking care to make sure the key would not come off his wrist, went for a pee, then made his way to the poolside. There was moment of excitement as he went through the foot bath, which turned out to be a bit deeper than normal coming up to an inch or so above his ankles. Satisfyingly, this soaked the bottom of his trousers. There was a moment of hilarity when Rob Dawkins, either by accident or design pulled up the legs of his trousers, only to realise what he had done.

The pool was huge, at least Olympic size. At one end there was a large classroom type area, and it was to here that they were directed. Jake made his way in, and sat down. He couldn't help but notice little drips of water coming from the lads trouser bottoms. This time he was sat next to Simon Jackson. Have you got those new trousers on asked Jake. Sure thing said Simon, look here's the tag.
He reached around the back and showed Jake the tag, still attached by its plastic loop. M&S black trousers it read, £17.99. its a new shirt as well, he said, fresh out of the packet today.

Their conversation was interrupted by someone banging on the table. He was a tall man, about 6'4” dressed in a white vest and navy blue swimshorts. Hello everybody, he said, I am CPO Malc James, and I will be taking this session today. Nice to see you all, and so smartly turned out as well. You should see some of the dirty old laundry we get in here. I hope you all got the memo that this is a swimming lesson, and you are all going to get very wet. Right, he said, a few things before we start. He went on to warn them that the deep end was over 12ft, so be careful. He checked that everybody could swim, which they could, and told them that if they felt uncomfortable, or in danger, either swim to the side, or if needs be shout for help. He introduced three Sailors who would be around to help. They were wearing black trackies and yellow T Shirts with Royal Navy and a crest on the front. Right, he said, first question, who has swum in clothes before. Around half the class put their hands up. Right, you, he said, pointing at a girl called Fiona Davidson. Tell us about it. Well Sir, she said, my sisters threw me into the pool when we were on holiday. I hope you threw them in later, said Malc. One thing, there's no need for Sir, just call me Malc. Yes you, third row back, on the end. This was Mark Simkins, I jumped in the harbour for a dare he said. Earned £20 though. Malc continued around the class asking another three pupils. One had been thrown in at a family party, one had fallen in whilst fishing, and the last, Ike, had lost his skateboard in the canal, and had gone in after it. OK said Malc, those examples go to show that you can end up in the water at any time, so knowing what to do is very important. I'm going to give you a scenario he said. You are on a school trip, on a boat looking at coastal erosion. Suddenly the engine catches fire, and you are all told to jump for safety. You can see the shoreline, so do you A, try to swim to it, B, Tread water and hope to be rescued. C. grab a piece of wreckage. Or, do you know of a better way.
How many are A. Around half the class put their hands up. B. only around 5 people raised their hands. C. The remaining pupils raised their hands. Right said Malc. What's wrong with all of these, and is there a better way. After some debate it was decided that swimming for shore was not very sensible, as you weren't sure how far it was, treading water would soon become tiring, but clinging to wreckage, if there was any was by far the best option. Is there another way? Malc asked. A girl called Samantha Collier put her hand up, get into a huddle, she said. We've done it at Guides. You keep each other afloat, and if one or two get tired the rest can keep them up. Well done, said Malc, I think you might have an advantage today, you've obviously done this before. Yes I have Samantha replied, you taught me! The whole class including Malc laughed at this, and it certainly broke the ice. Right said Malc, the bit you have been waiting for, lets hit the water.

Jakes heart was pounding as they made their way out to the pool. Right, said Malc, I want you to jump in and swim around for a few minutes, just to get used to it. Climb out and get in again if you like, I want you to get used to swimming in clothes. Right, go. With that the screeches of excitement and splashes started. Jake jumped off the side and into the water, going under and coming up again. All around him he noticed dark burgundy, nearly black jumpers, the gold trim around the collar seeming to shine brighter as the red got darker. He felt the sensation in his own clothes, as the water got up underneath them and swirled about. He noticed some of his classmates getting out, water pouring out of their sodden clothing, before they jumped back in again. Soon 5 minutes was up, a Malc blew his whistle for everyone to get out.
What a sight the class looked, standing on the poolside. As mentioned the jumpers had turned dark burgundy, and water was dripping out of them. Looking around, Jake couldn't help but notice how different the trousers looked depending on the fabric. A couple of lads trousers looked hardly damp, others were a dull black, except for little rivers of water that were running off their top clothes. Others were still shiny black all over, including Simon's new M&S trousers. Jake wondered what his looked like.

Right said Malc, You all used different methods of jumping in, but does anyone know the best way?
Samantha spoke up again. A straddle jump, she said. Would you like to show us then, said Malc. She stood on the edge of the pool, stretched one arm out in front of her, and one behind. Then she literally stepped off the pool edge into the water. She got a face full of wet skirt as she hit the water, but it then submerged as it was pushed down. She swam a few confident strokes over to the ladder and climbed out, water deluging from her jumper, running down her skirt, and pouring onto the floor. Right, said Malc, did you notice that her head didn't go underwater. Even if the water had been quite shallow she would have been alright, and not hit the bottom. I want you to practice that for a few moments.
The next ten minutes or so were spent perfecting the straddle jump. Jake must have climbed out and jumped in about four times, each time swimming to the ladder to get out. That was fun, as climbing the ladder behind someone meant that the water running out of their clothes went all over you. The whistle blew again. Right, said Malc, let's try huddles. I want you get into groups of about eight, facing each other. Form a circle, put your arms around each others shoulders, and keep each other afloat. This was even more fun as it meant getting up close and hands on with each other. There was a certain excitement that Jake felt, touching somebody else's jumper. He didn't know why, because they were all the same, and bought from the school shop, but it just floated his boat. He also noticed how the shirt and blouse collars floated on the water, as the bobbed up and down. Sometimes he would knock legs with another member of the huddle. All this made him quite rampant.

The sailors, who so far had taken no part in the lesson suddenly jumped in the pool, still wearing their trackies and T shirts. OK said Malc, everyone out for a minute, my boys are going to show you some basic life saving. The class swam to the side, and sat on the edge with their legs dangling in the water. What a sight this was for Jake, who nearly lost control there and then. The sailors showed some basic lifesaving manoeuvres, including towing a casualty by the chin. They then removed their trackies, tied knots in the bottom of the legs, and by swishing the quickly over their heads filling them with air, which made a makeshift buoyancy aid.

Right, said Malc, back in you go, partner up with someone and try some towing. My lads will help you if you need it. Jake teamed up with Ike. They turned out to be quite good at this, getting the hang of it quickly. Soon they were towing each other up and down the pool. Well done that pair there, shouted Malc, pointing to them. He blew his whistle again. Everyone stopped what they were doing and either trod water or headed for the side. We are nearly out of time, he said, I hope you have all enjoyed this time, and hopefully are taking something useful away with you. Just a couple of minutes left to do what you like, then you must get out. There was much splashing, screeching from the girls, and general horseplay for a couple of minutes. Malc blew his whistle again. Right that's it, he said, times up. Thanks for being a good group, now you can go off and get changed, oh, and I suggest you shower in your clothes to start with, in order to wash the chlorine out.


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