About
British Swim School at LA Fitness – Richmond Ave in Staten Island offers year-round swim lessons for infants, children, and adults in a comfortable indoor environment. Located inside the LA Fitness facility, the school focuses on water safety and survival skills with small class sizes.
The school utilizes heated indoor pools, typically maintained at a comfortable temperature range of 85-86°F (29-30°C) to ensure a pleasant learning experience for all students.
What are people saying (AI review summary)? Reviews for British Swim School are mixed. Positive feedback praises great, attentive instructors, flexible scheduling, and rapid progress for children. However, significant criticisms include the high cost for a short amount of actual water time (often 10-15 minutes out of a 30-minute lesson due to children waiting in line), inconsistent instructor quality, and restrictive policies that often require a full month's payment even when attempting to quit or when a child does not participate. Several reviewers reported issues with credit cards being charged without warning or consent, a poorly designed app, and difficulty reaching staff by phone. While some billing and refund issues were eventually resolved by responsive management, with full refunds granted in specific cases, the school is noted as not being a trial-based program, which can be a drawback for hesitant young children.
Location
Gallery
Amenities
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Accepts Credit Cards
Reviews
Listing Reviews
August 20th, 2025Alice KMC
We love British Swim School. Great instructor, flexible days and hours. My son and daughter have improved immensely in just one summer. The instructors break down each stroke so well, that natural quick progress is easily attained. The instructors give so much special attention. We are very happy here. Would recommend to others.
May 27th, 2025Валерия Пикалова
No, I didn't like this place at all, come on guys, for $40 half an hour, of which the child is in the water for a maximum of 10-15 minutes, because he sits in some incomprehensible line of children, well, if you only devote 30 minutes, please dedicate them exclusively to one child, the changing cabins are also of course interesting, I will not talk about unknown phi and writing off money for a whole month at once without warning when you book only one or two lessons a week, it turns out you will be obliged to go to them for a whole month, the application is not very well designed, the class being moved from one place to another in a few hours was not as upsetting as everything I saw in general.👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻
September 2nd, 2025Indigo Reade
It was pretty average. I went for 4 months, I think it’s expensive for only 30 minutes a week and the inconsistency with instructors is grating. Sometimes you’ll get a really good and attentive person and other times it’ll be a teen who doesn’t pay close attention when handling your baby in the water, this happened a few times and now that I finally want to quit unfortunately their policy is that you have to go for another month…yea no thanks.
July 24th, 2025ANNA MAMPEL
Resolved with Care — Thank You to the Manager and Owner I signed my 5-year-old up for swim lessons at British Swim School and paid $180 upfront for three classes and a one-time enrollment fee. Unfortunately, when we arrived for the first lesson, my son became overwhelmed and refused to participate — he never changed or entered the water. It became clear he wasn’t ready, and I requested to withdraw him from the program. Initially, I was disappointed by the refund policy, which required payment for two lessons even if the child didn’t participate. As a parent of a young child, I found this difficult to accept. However, after some communication and follow-up, the Customer Sales Manager, Louis, went out of his way to speak with the owner on our behalf, and I was eventually issued a full refund. I sincerely appreciate the thoughtful way the situation was resolved and the willingness to make an exception. I’m leaving this as a 3-star review not as a criticism, but to help other parents of very young children be aware that this is not a trial-based program — it may not be the best fit for kids who are still warming up to the idea of lessons. That said, the staff was respectful and responsive, and I’m grateful for how things were ultimately handled.
May 20th, 2025Carolyn C
BE AWARE OF THEIR FALSE , MISLEADING WEBSITE. Recommended this place to my sister after seeing it advertised in the gym. They will ask you for your creditcard and claim “you will not be charged” until you see the email with details…. Which they do send and at the same time charge you, without notice , without your consent. She was willing to give this place a try but after that monkey business , needless to say we will take our business elsewhere. When you call they never answer, you have to leave a voicemail … they do call back, receptionist did take care of reversing the charge right away and apologized . This shouldn’t have happened in the first place.
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Opening Hours
| Sunday | 9:15 AM – 2:30 PM |
|---|---|
| Monday | 9:45 AM – 7:45 PM |
| Tuesday | Closed |
| Wednesday | 2:45 – 7:45 PM |
| Thursday | 2:45 – 7:45 PM |
| Friday | 9:45 AM – 7:45 PM |
| Saturday | 9:15 AM – 2:30 PM |