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Boys have a P.A.D.I over GTX's new addition
Merchant Taylors' have teamed up with Aquatrek a new local dive school to give some boys the unique opportunity to gain a worldwide recognised scuba diving qualification as part of their GTX options. The boys are being tutored through a ten week course to gain a full P.A.D.I open water diving certificate which will allow them to dive anywhere in the world up to a depth of 12m.
The 12 Year 7 to 9 boys currently on the course have been learning practical diving skills in the pool as well as having extensive classroom theory tuition to help guide them through the required coursework.
Final qualification will require the successful completion of 4 open water dives over two days, and a written examination. The open water dives will take place in a Quarry near Lancaster sometime in July.
The Diving Programme is part of the Senior Boys' Gifted and Talented eXtension Programme. Since the beginning of this academic year boys have come off timetable on a Friday afternoon and worked in groups on topics in which there may be real flair but are not generally included as part of the curriculum. The idea is to foster and encourage less conventional skills and interests that the boys may have and ensure that everyone can try their hand at something a little different. These activities have also included enamelling, working with engines, public speaking, creative writing and bee-keeping.
James Wilson says:
At the start of this term, I opted for diving in GTX and when we first got there we were told we would get a useful PADI qualification at the end of it. This aim for a qualification and the sheer surprise of such an amazing course on offer has made the diving course both educational and really fun, and I can't wait for the course to finish with some open water diving!
Going underwater in the school pool was also really exciting. There were lots of things we were taught in the pool, what running out of air feels like, how to get the buddy's alternate air source, how to clean masks whilst underwater and swimming, floating and staying at the bottom of the pool by inflating/deflating the buoyancy control device.
Some of the skills we were taught were really interesting. Cleaning your mask while underwater seems like something difficult, but is easy once you try it, and swimming up and down in diving gear is odd at first but is really fun to do. Simply being able to stay underwater for really long lengths of time and to breathe there is a really fun and amazing, so I'm really glad that diving was offered this GTX. It is and continues to be a really exciting experience.