About Us

DIRECTOR

Over the last ten years Connie has managed a number of Leisure Centre and Club sports programmes giving her a wide range of experience in running gymnastics, trampolining, synchro, water-polo and diving programmes.

However her number one passion is swimming. An ex-international swimmer, she qualified as a swimming coach whilst living in Fiji and coached the Fijian national team.

Connie lives in WInchester with her three sons.

DIRECTOR

Sarah has been teaching and coaching for 40 years. From 2003-2008 she was Head Coach at Tritons Swimming Club and National Coach of Fiji. Sarah’s swimmers competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and at the 2012 London Olympics.

In 2008 she joined Winchester City Penguins Swim Club, eventually retiring from her head coach position in 2021 in order to create The Standen Swim Academy in partnership with her daughter Connie.

Sarah has four children all of whom became competitive swimmers and swim teachers and/or coaches. She has four grandchildren who all swim with the Durley House Swim School.

SWIMMING INSTRUCTOR

Amie first started as a teaching assistant for her local swimming club at the age of 14. She is passionate about swimming with butterfly being her favourite stroke. She is know for her contagious smile and caring nature.

She particularly enjoys teaching younger stages and loves a challenge!

SWIMMING INSTRUCTOR

James is one of Durley House's most experienced teachers having been assisting at his own family's swim school from the age of 15yrs. James is an STA Aquatic Tutor and regularly trains and mentors new swimming teachers.

James is known for striking a great balance between being fun and firm with his swimmers, being super creative in how he incorporates the themes within his lessons and making sure every swimmer leaves his lesson with a smile.

James is currently studying Electronic Engineering in Portsmouth.

SWIMMING INSTRUCTOR

Jeannette has had a lifelong love of swimming. It runs in the family; Jeannette is an ex-international swimmer and her brother is a cliff driver!

Jeannette has been teaching for over 15yrs and loves seeing her swimmers gain confidence and fall in love with the water. Her patience and caring nature instantly put her swimmers at ease.

In her spare time, she is kept busy with her two sons and going away as a family in the camper van.

SWIMMING INSTRUCTOR

Hannah started her journey as a swimming teacher as a teenager, always wanting to return to it one day. Now, nearly fifteen years later and as a mum of three, Hannah has come back to the pool.

Although she teaches all stages at Durley House, Hannah’s passion is in the Baby & Preschool classes where she loves to bring lots of energy to the lessons; using different toys and equipment to engage both the adult and child to have fun while learning in the water. Hannah is eager to add more sensory experiences to her lessons so children can play and explore as well learning the core skills of swimming.

SWIMMING INSTRUCTOR

Freddie is not only a Swim England Level 2 teacher but also a NPLQ lifeguard.

Otherwise known as the BFG, Freddie`s calm and friendly demeanour puts his swimmers instantly at ease. He finds the perfect balance between ensuring his swimmers are always being challenged, while still having fun and respecting the water.

In his spare time you will often find Freddie on the rugby field.

SWIMMING INSTRUCTOR

Fraser is a Swim England level 2 teacher but started as a poolside helper at the humble age of 13 at Eastleigh Swim Club. He is training and competing in swimming and gained a bronze medal in the 100m backstroke at Nationals in 2022.

He loves being able to teach from in the water and watching swimmers develop skills while having fun in their lessons.

SWIMMING INSTRUCTOR

In addition to her swim teaching role, Caroline is also an Infant School Teacher of 15 years.

Caroline’s love of swimming began when she was a young child and went on to swim regularly and competitively for Fareham Nomads Swimming club.

Caroline’s aim is to develop children’s enjoyment and confidence within the water, as well as to see children develop their essential swimming skills and motivate swimmers to progress within their own swimming journey. She loves to make the sessions fun, playful, creative and sensory based through use of different toys and singing songs.

Outside of teaching, Caroline loves to keep active with her family and enjoys watching her daughter and son play football.

SWIMMING INSTRUCTOR

Gary qualified as swimming instructor in 1984 and has over 40 years extensive experience teaching swimming at all levels to include Lifesaving and Diving.

His passion for swimming started when he was young, swimming for his local swimming club. He then started to coach for the club at 17.

Starting as a lifeguard he worked his way up to management and set up and ran a swim school in local authority and charitable trust.

His style of teaching is energetic, passionate and fun. He strives to get swimmers swimming with great style once they have had fun gaining water confidence.

Away from the pool Gary can often be found on a bike. He has attends many sportive and cycling events on the road, gravel and mountain bike

SWIMMING INSTRUCTOR

Vikki has been a swimming instructor for over 10 years and has worked with a huge range of swimmers during this time.

Vikki specialises in teaching swimming to children and adults with learning disabilities. She regularly incorporates sign language and visuals into her lessons to assist children/adults in lessons.

In her spare time Vikki loves to take her son Samuel swimming.

SWIMMING INSTRUCTOR

Jorja is a fun and enthusiastic teacher, who loves teaching all ages. She finds watching a child grow in confidence and ability to be hugely rewarding. She hopes to progress each child to their full potential.

Jorja was a diver for 5 years and even met Tom Daley!

When not in the pool, Jorja loves going out with her dog Bailey and playing netball.

She is currently studying Uniformed Service and hopes to be a firefighter in the future!

SWIMMING INSTRUCTOR

Sally adores the water and especially enjoys teaching the beginner stages and watching those breakthrough moments when a child does something for the first time.

Sally says she is always found surrounded by children as she has 5 children and 1 grandchild, Sally is a qualified nanny and also teaches gymnastics and dance.

In her spare time Sally and her husband have a ceramics business so are mostly found their studio (garage)!

SWIMMING INSTRUCTOR

Jessica started as an assistant teacher for her local swimming club Portsmouth Northsea at 14 years of age. She has taught swimming for 17 years with a brief break to study Children's Nursing in London.

Jess says swimming is her passion and she loves seeing swimmers gain confidence and enjoy being in the water. She enjoys teaching all stages.

Outside of work Jess spends most of her time chasing around after her two boys who are one and two years of age.

SWIMMING INSTRUCTOR

Maddie has always loved swimming and previously trained in a competitive swim squad. She always knew that she wanted to use this knowledge to teach others to swim and has been teaching since the age of 13.

Maddie enjoys watching the younger stages gain confidence in the water and splash around with the toys and also seeing the higher stages working super hard on their technique. Her favourite part about swim teaching is how rewarding it is to see children proud of themselves after achieving their goals. Her teaching style is very much based on earning trust and relationships with the children whilst incorporating working hard and having fun!

Outside of the swim school, Maddie is studying biology, chemistry and psychology at college.

SWIMMING INSTRUCTOR

Alice started swimming when she was only 6 months old and has continued to swim ever since. She started swim teaching at 14 years of age. Alice enjoys seeing the progress her swimmers achieve and watching how their confidence and willingness to challenge themselves develops. She loves creating a fun environment for her swimmers to learn in and enjoys watching them become excited to explore their abilities.

Alice is currently studying physics, maths and Spanish at college.

SWIMMING INSTRUCTOR

Ben has had a life long passion for swimming and has progressed through Winchester City Swim Club from lessons, all the way to Finals at British Nationals.

His experiences have taught him not only how to be safe in the water, but also how to enjoy it. Through his lessons, Ben strives to pass this on to his swimmers and believes that fun is the core aspect to swimming and sport.

Ben has a sister with Down syndrome from whom he has learnt valuable lessons such as patience and the important of clear communication.

Outside of the pool, Ben is studying biology, PE and geography and is in the second year of his A levels.

SWIMMING INSTRUCTOR

Sharon’s first job was a life guard and qualified as a level 2 teacher over 32 years ago. Also Sharon is an aquaphobic coach and has previously taught dolphin snorkelling.

Sharon taught one of our most popular teachers, Fraser, how to swim!

As soon as the water touches Sharon’s toes a big smile comes on her face, as it is a very magical place to be. Sharon’s lessons are safe and fun and Sharon really enjoys the moment ( tear of joy ) when the child or adult swims for the very first time.

Sharon loves the outdoors, walking her dog, playing netball, gardening and socialising lots.

SWIMMING INSTRUCTOR

Grace is a keen swimmer and has been a part of a local swim club for over 8 years. She has been volunteering as a swim teacher at Mitres Swimming Club for the last 2 years and absolutely loves it!

Grace is known for her calm and friendly approach. She really focuses on building relationships with swimmers and looks to build up there water confidence with fun games and praise.

SWIMMING INSTRUCTOR

Caragh has been swimming since two years of age and used to be coached by Connie and Sarah at Winchester City Penguins Swimming Club. She has always had a passion for swimming and always wanted in the future to use her knowledge from competitive swimming to help her teach others.

Caragh loves teaching older stages to develop their swimming technique and also enjoys being silly and having fun with the younger stages.

Outside of Durley House Swim school, Caragh is studying Biology, Psychology and Geography and she plays netball.

SWIMMING & LIFESAVING INSTRUCTOR

Hannah has been teaching swimming and lifesaving for over 20 years and loves to see the development of our swimmers into lifeguards of the future!

Having an awareness of how to stay safe around water is so important, whether it's on a family holiday to a villa, a day trip to the beach, or just walking next to the river on the way home!

SWIMMING INSTRUCTOR

Jayden has spent the majority of his life in and around the water, he first started swimming at 4 and continued swimming until 13, he became a lifeguard at 17 and later qualified as a swim teacher.

His dominant stroke is backstroke and is more thorough when teaching it, each summer he has started attending a program where he goes to America to teach children at a summer camp.

He is very passionate and enthusiastic about his job and prioritises the swimmers enjoying the lesson above all else, he also targets water confidence as he used to have a fear himself, for the stages he enjoys them all but favourites 2-4

SWIMMING INSTRUCTOR

Cam has been a qualified Swim Teacher for the past 6 years and joined the Durley House Team in November 2023 and comes with a competitive swimming background.

He also enjoyed 2 consecutive summer seasons teaching in Cyprus in 2021 and 2022, which is actually where he learnt to swim when he was 5!

Cam enjoys seeing his pupils grow in confidence and ability whilst also ensuring all of his lessons are enjoyable!

In his spare time, Cam is always looking for a new challenge having completed a 70.3 Ironman in 2022.

SWIMMNG INSTRUCTOR

Before Sam became a swimming teacher she was a qualified primary school teacher with over 8 years experience, teaching children aged 4-11, as well as 3 years managing a nursery of children aged 6 months to 4 years. 

She has always had a love of swimming and was fortunate enough to grow up in a house with its own pool. She learnt to swim there, and by a very young age she could independently swim. Throughout her childhood she competed in swimming galas, completed diving courses, participated in holiday swimming clubs, had swimming parties, and as an adult - lane swimming to keep fit and taking both of her young boys to their lessons. You name it - she`s done it all! 

After having her children, she was very keen to take her love of swimming and combine it with her love of working with children - hence becoming a swimming teacher!

She loves being able to teach from in the water and using toys to help swimmers gain confidence. That light bulb moment a child has when they suddenly “get” the skill makes the job very rewarding. She is a very enthusiastic person, and enjoys making every session fun and playful, which in turn brings out the children’s technique and water confidence.

When she isn`t swimming, you’ll find her exploring with her 2 young boys and partner, or keeping fit with lots of walking and running!

Hebe has always been passionate about swimming, from attending swimming lessons at an early age and then becoming a teaching assistant at 14 years old, to teaching he own lessons at 16yrs old .

She enjoys to teach all stages of swimmers and loves to see the progress that happens to each child throughout her lessons.

She has 7 siblings and has taught a few of them to swim and is currently teaching her you gest sister who is disabled. She is also an artist and hopes to one day have her own gallery.