Jack Illingworth, a year five pupil at Settle Primary School, is celebrating after designing the winning poster in a competition to promote Settle Area Swimming Pool’s fiftieth anniversary carnival. Jack’s poster will be seen around the area over the next few weeks as the pool steps up preparations for the carnival on June 21 that marks fifty years since the opening of the community-funded pool.

The pool, which continues to enjoy massive local support, was built largely as a result of local fund-raising that included regular town carnivals. The event on Saturday June 21, which will be held in the car park in front of the pool and field behind (thanks to Settle College,) will seek to recreate the spirit of those early events. A wide range of local organisations will be represented and there will be food and drink stalls as well as entertainment – such as the young farmers’ ducking stool and the ever popular crockery smashing stall. The Giggleswick and Settle Brass Band will be playing and Bretton Lord, of Lords Courtyard will act as compere.

Jack’s poster was chosen from a large number of entries by Settle Primary School pupils. All the designs are now on display in the poolside café. Winning the competition means that Jack will now enjoy a pool party for himself and his friends. 

The reason the community came together all those years ago to help fund a community swimming
pool was to ensure local children were able to learn to swim safely and so avoid accidents in the River Ribble that runs close by, so it is appropriate that Jack learnt to swim at the pool, which he has been attending since he was just a few months old, taken by his mother to the splashing tots sessions.