Gunnamatta Bay at Cronulla was the scene of squeals of joy from 124 students from Miller Intensive English Centre on an excursion in late November.

The excursion was the culmination of a swim safety curriculum where the students had weekly swimming lessons in Term 4 and developed essential skills such as swimming, floating and treading water to build their confidence and safety in the water.

Two-thirds of the students could not swim or were classified as weak swimmers before they started swimming lessons.

Dragana Stojanovic, Deputy Principal of Miller IEC, said the swim safety curriculum taught foundational skills vital for building stamina and ensuring students can stay safe in the water.

“Our students are newly arrived refugees and migrants from countries including Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan,” Ms Stojanovic said.

“For many, the swim program was their first formal introduction to Australia’s aquatic culture and an important step in building confidence living in a new country with extensive coastlines and waterways.”

Miller Intensive English Centre in south-west Sydney is co-located with Miller Technology High School and is one of the 15 IECs run by the NSW Department of Education across Sydney and in Armidale and Wollongong.

The IECs and the Intensive English High School in Alexandria, Sydney, provide English tuition to newly arrived high school students whose first language is not English.

They also provide orientation, settlement and wellbeing programs to prepare students for learning in a NSW public high school. Most students learn in the IECs for three to five terms before transitioning to a mainstream public high school.

Ms Stojanovic said the Gunnamatta Bay excursion gave students the opportunity to apply and build on the swimming skills they had developed during the weekly swimming lessons.

“Students gained practical knowledge of beach safety—learning to read surf conditions, identify safe swimming zones, and understand how to react during emergencies. Hands-on activities helped reinforce water safety messages and gave students a real-world context to their swim lessons,” she said.

“Our school is so proud of the IEC students who made a splash and showed off their new skills. Everyone’s ready to stay safe and have fun at the beach.”