Girl to run race for brother's swimming charity

A 13-year-old girl will take on the Junior Great South Run to raise funds for her older brother's swimming charity.

Lily, from Byfleet in Surrey, has already raised more than £2,000 through her online fundraiser, ahead of the run on 17 October.

Troy, 21, said he was inspired by his sister, who has Down's syndrome, to set up SEN UK Swimming, which trains swimming teachers to better support children with special educational needs.

He told the BBC he had watched Lily "struggle a lot with learning to swim and finding a swimming teacher that understood her needs".

According to Troy, Lily had struggled to swim until the age of 11, at which point he trained as a swimming teacher to help her learn.

He eventually started swimming classes in Surrey specifically for children and young people with special educational needs.

The 21-year-old went on to found SEN UK Swimming, which helps train other swimming teachers across England.

He said the idea that Lily would take on the Junior Great South Run came when "she strolled into my room with her piggy bank in hand" asking to make a donation.

"I told her to keep the piggy bank and from there said 'but people do raise money other ways, Lily'."

Troy said his sister had "always loved the water" but "when it came to actually learning the skill of swimming, she just wasn't getting the right support".

A report by Troy's charity and the Swimming Teachers' Association warned that learning to swim was "often determined not by a family's willingness to participate, but by whether suitable opportunities exist that meet their child's individual needs".

The study also found swimming teachers had reported occasions where they turned away a child because they did not feel equipped to support them.

Troy said he found that "swim schools would try their best, they'd be putting on the inclusive swim lessons, but the teacher just wouldn't quite understand that child".

"It just ends up that they tend to not get the support they need and as a result, a lot of them aren't learning to swim," he added.

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