h2go-swim, operating in Bury St Edmunds for more than 35 years, named best in region

A town swimming school has been named the best in the region.

h2go-swim, which has been operating in Bury St Edmunds for more than 35 years, has received the Prestige Award London and South East England for Swimming School of the Year 2025/26.

Sue Brown, owner of the school, developed a method of teaching called ‘flip and float’ after helping in Sri Lanka in the wake of the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004.

It prioritises lifesaving skills before being taught to swim, rather than the typical method of swimming first and lifesaving after.

The aim of this is, even if a child cannot swim, they will know what to do if they get into difficulty.

Sue said: “It has always been our aim to serve our local community by offering a lifesaving skill and all the health benefits that are attributed to swimming. Thank you to all who nominated us.”

She added she was ‘truly delighted’ to receive the award and thanked all the teachers, past and present, for their ‘unwavering dedication’ to h2go’s swimmers and behind the scenes admin.

Its students range from ages three to 80 and include children with learning difficulties, adults who have never had the opportunity to learn, triathletes looking to refine their skills and army personnel needing to improve their swim skills to pass army criteria.

Sue said running a swimming business is challenging at the moment, with high hire costs and h2go having gone through the change of use of a pool, loss of a pool and an irreparable pool.

However, an unwavering belief in providing an important skills and its associated health benefits has always driven the team forward.

h2go has a long waiting list and always welcomes additional venues.