SHERSTON Primary School children cannot swim at Malmesbury's new pool because no instructors have been found to teach them.

Instead, the school has to bus pupils 14 miles to the Olympiad at Chippenham for their weekly half-hour swimming sessions.

Head teacher Nick Bowditch said he had hoped that Year 3 pupils would be able to use the £2.3 million pool when it opened on January 12.

But despite contacting nearly 30 instructors he failed to find one willing to travel to Malmesbury.

He said: "I am sad we are not able to use a facility which was built for the people in this area.

"It was our intention in January to use the pool, but we were told at Christmas it was impossible. Most of the instructors were committed further south in the county and were not prepared to come to Malmesbury.

North Wiltshire Leisure chief executive Gary Milne said under an agreement with Wiltshire County Council, they were not responsible for providing instructors at Malmesbury pool.

He said the Olympiad was an exception, and instructors were available there.

"It is nothing to do with us. There was a dual use agreement between the district and county council and North Wiltshire Leisure on swimming teachers for schools.

"At the Olympiad schools pay for the use of the pool and swimming teachers. At Malmesbury pool schools must provide their own instructors."

Sherston Primary pupils have swimming sessions for just one term each year but Mr Bowditch said if pupils were able to swim at Malmesbury they would be able to increase the number of children swimming.

District councillor John Thomson said he thought the situation was ridiculous.

He said: "Money is not the problem. The county council gives schools the finance which they use as they want.

"We have a public-funded pool which is unable to provide a service to schools because it has not got any teachers."

Mr Bowditch said he wanted pupils to be able to swim at Malmesbury pool in the future

He said: "We have been going to Chippenham to swim for years so nothing is different in that respect.

"But in the long term we would like to go to Malmesbury since it gives us the opportunity to have more children swimming.

"As part of the curriculum all children in key stage 2 have to be able to swim 25m. If they were able to do more than that it would be great.

"We would go every term if it was possible but we would have to rely on charitable contributions to do that."

Crudwell Primary School uses Cirencester Pool and is committed to swimming there until the end of the year.

Head teacher Lisa Tudor said she would not use Malmesbury pool in the long term.

She said: "I was thinking of using Malmesbury in the future, but I heard other teachers' experiences were not so good because of the problems getting instructors."

However, staff at Malmesbury Primary School and Luckington School said they had been able to get instructors and use the pool regularly.

Ann Napper, head of PE at Malmesbury School, said the shortage of swimming instructors had been brought up at a previous meeting with North Wiltshire Leisure.

She said: "I know some of our feeder schools have had problems trying to find instructors.

"It is a real shame but there is a shortage of teachers."

A spokesman for North Wiltshire District Council said: "There is a shortage of swimming coaches in the area and also nationally.

"We are aware of that but at the end of the day it is the school's responsibility to find coaches."