Four-time Olympic medallist Rebecca Adlington popped into a school to meet some of the youngsters who’ll be having lessons at her new venture.

The swimming champ visited New Horizons Children's Academy in Park Cresent, Chatham, to talk to pupils about water safety and the importance of knowing how to swim.

She talked to the whole school about different water sources and how to act responsibly around them.

Rebecca also reflected on her Olympic career, sharing with pupils her journey of how she went from swimming at a young age to performing at a global level.

She reminisced about how proud she was to be able to represent Team GB on home soil during the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Four children were chosen to hold Rebecca’s gold and bronze medals, which she won at the Beijing and London Olympics in 2008 and 2012 respectively. Pupils loved learning about the medals’ designs, materials, and what makes each of them so special.

The visit was organised in support of Swim!, a programme founded by Rebecca Adlington OBE, Steve Parry MBE, and Adrian Turner to deliver swimming classes in family-friendly facilities across the UK.

The twelfth club was opening in Chatham today, in the former Toys R Us unit and alongside JD Gyms which has just opened.

Pupils from New Horizons will be having lessons there from the New Year.

Rebecca said: “We're very excited to be here. We open up Swim! Chatham on December 15 but I went earlier and there was water in the pool already, which was so exciting to see.

"We offer lessons from newborns to 11-year-olds; in the day we have parents and child, then we have the national curriculum, so the school will be coming to us in January for lessons during school time, and then after school, we're open three to 11-year-olds.

“They're 30-minute with small class sizes to progress and move through the programme quickly so they can be safe around water. It's an important lesson to learn, we teach in a fun and engaging way.

"Chatham is number 12, so we have 12 pools up and down the country, and we're also based in 13 schools across the country as well. So we're in 25 locations, which is fantastic."

New Horizons Children's Academy head teacher Cormac Murphy said: “It was an absolute pleasure to welcome Rebecca Adlington and her team to our school. Pupils loved hearing about her experience as an Olympic athlete and were inspired by her stories.

“They also learned about the importance of water safety and knowing how to swim. This is very important to us as we strive to equip all our children with essential life skills, nurture their development and transform their life chances.

“We are looking forward to the opening of Swim! in Chatham and know it will provide access to a high quality and safe environment for our children, as well as others in our community, to learn to swim. We cannot thank Rebecca and her team enough.”