About
British Swim School at Friends Select Pool in Philadelphia offers year-round indoor swim lessons focusing on survival skills and learn-to-swim programs for infants, children, and adults. Located conveniently on Benjamin Franklin Parkway, it provides a safe and structured environment for developing aquatic proficiency.
The pool at British Swim School locations, including Friends Select Pool, is typically maintained at a comfortable 85-87°F (approximately 30-31°C), ensuring a warm and inviting environment suitable for all ages, particularly infants and toddlers.
What are people saying (AI review summary)? The swim school receives highly mixed reviews. Positive feedback highlights friendly and sweet instructors, effective water safety instruction, and fun classes for very young babies, with some recent patrons noting improved organization and responsiveness from owner Kim. However, a significant number of reviewers, including very recent ones, report severe and persistent issues with communication, frequent last-minute class cancellations or rescheduling, poor overall organization, and difficulties with refunds or incorrect charges. Some also found classes inconveniently timed during nap times or repetitive for older toddlers. A particularly negative review alleges the owner failed to accommodate classes after a student's serious illness, suggesting a lack of care beyond financial transactions.
Location
Gallery
Amenities
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Accessible Entrance
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Accessible Restroom
Reviews
Listing Reviews
June 18th, 2025Enas Ibrahim
We currently take lessons there and it seems things have gotten better since the negative reviews were left by other families 9-12 months ago. We’ve been taking lessons there for 4 months now for my 4 year old and there has been only one cancellation/rescheduling. Kim, the owner, is nice and most of the time she will pick up the phone when we call and answer any questions we have. All instructors we’ve encountered as well as the young man sitting on deck are very sweet. I honestly think this is a hidden gem because not many families know about it.
July 30th, 2023Micaela Poirette
Had a great class with lots of babies 3-8 months. Cute songs, lots of toys, very informative about water safety. Kim, the organizer, is friendly and wonderful. We received goodie bags, pool balls, balloons, and swim caps. The babies had a wonderful time. Highly recommend to anyone!
September 5th, 2024Lauren Bent
Similar to other patrons leaving reviews, I’ve had struggles in communication & rescheduling, etc. The classes for babies & toddlers are directly during normal nap times so it throws off our whole day, & rescheduling is always a whole to-do. Sometimes classes get cancelled or moved last minute. It ended up being much more effort than it was worth. Still waiting on a refund from a month ago when I was charged despite being told I wouldn’t be. With all of that said, during our classes, it was nice & I enjoyed the instructors. There were some really sweet teachers & wholesome moments singing songs. Swim safety is important for kids so I’m glad I did it & our daughter is comfortable in the water. When they’re so young, classes eventually plateau though, & she hasn’t really done any new skills in a while. Once you get the hang of the few exercises, it gets pretty repetitive each week. We’ll likely pick it back up in the future at a more communicative & predictable place.
August 28th, 2024Abhishek Dubey
We enrolled our son for swim lessons here during the summer (2024) and unfortunately it was an absolutely awful experience. Almost every single class got rescheduled or cancelled and we were not notified until the last minute (sometimes as late as 5 mins before the scheduled class when we were already at the pool). Terrible communication and follow up. Very poorly organized program. After several attempts to contact them, cancel our membership, we were still charged. (One of them in error as per their own admission) It takes a lot for me to write a bad review, but I have never experienced a business or service that is so unprofessional and disorganized. Hopefully they can take this feedback and improve their program to benefit future participants.
February 5th, 2024Ree Ree Smith
I was a member of the school at the Jenkintown location, I had to switch to this location because the pool only went to 5ft. In the process of me coming over to this school. I spoke to the owner named Kim and she assured me that it would be OK for me to transfer over and finish taking my classes. Unfortunately life happened and I got cancer. She told me once I was finished my treatments. I would be able to come in and finish my classes. I just recently contacted her and she told me if I didn't take a certain amount of classes. She will not accommodate me. If you are smart, do not go to the school. They do not care about you .....all they want is your money. If there was a 0 that's how many stars they were received from me
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Opening Hours
| Sunday | 12:30 – 5:30 PM |
|---|---|
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | Closed |
| Wednesday | Closed |
| Thursday | Closed |
| Friday | Closed |
| Saturday | 12:30 – 5:30 PM |