Congratulations to Team King's for their excellent achievements at the 2026 IAPS National Swimming Finals!

Eleven King's Ely Prep pupils - Sebby, Izzy, Emily, Peony, Lola, Isla, Zoe, Clara, Starla, Jessica, and Annabelle - represented themselves and the school at the fiercely-contested event, held at the London Aquatics Centre on June 6th. 

The Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS) Swimming 2026 programme has involved over 4,000 competitors, who participated in more than 35 qualifying events during the Lent Term. The top 1,500 swimmers were then invited to attend the finals.

Sebby swam in the morning, having qualified for the Under 13 breaststroke. He swam a great race, achieving a PB, and finishing 13th in his group. 

The girls swam in the afternoon, starting with the medley and freestyle relays. The Under 12 medley team (8th), Under 13 freestyle team (16th), and Under 13 medley team (11th) all swam excellent races to improve their qualifying times. The highlight of the relay teams was the Under 12 freestyle team of Izzy, Emily, Peony, and Lola, who won a Bronze medal!

Following the relays, the four pupils who had qualified for individual events all had their races. All four made it through their heats to qualify for the finals. These finals were the top ten swimmers from across the country, with the King's girls holding their own and fighting all the way. 

Zoe, racing in the Under 13 breaststroke, finished in 2nd place in an incredibly tight finish, achieving a Silver medal. Isla achieved 7th place in the Under 13 freestyle. Peony (Under 12 butterfly) and Izzy (Under 12 backstroke) both finished 4th in very close races. The efforts of all the girls as a collective meant that King's finished in 8th place out of 98 schools overall for the girls' competition!

On June 2nd, some of our swimmers in Years 3 and 4 enjoyed a gala against Culford School, held here in the King's pool. Despite a thunder storm delaying the start of the gala, everyone displayed huge confidence and tenacity in their races, resulting in us winning 119-99.

Enjoy more photos from the IAPS National Finals on our Facebook page: Facebook