Royal Life Saving Australia is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Bronze e-Lifesaving program, a free and innovative e-learning initiative that has educated nearly 100,000 students from 1,000 schools nationwide in essential water safety skills.

The Bronze e-Lifesaving program, supported by the Australian Government, integrates water safety education into the classroom, aligning with the Australian Curriculum for Health and Physical Education. The program uses aquatic themes to help students understand risk-taking behaviours, develop informed decision-making skills, and cultivate leadership qualities.

Royal Life Saving Australia National Manager Education and creator of the program Penny Larsen said: "Education is crucial in preventing drowning and promoting water safety, and it's incredible to see the program make such a significant impact over the past decade and to reach this important milestone.

"When we developed the Bronze e-Lifesaving program 10 years ago, we aimed to provide interactive and meaningful content that engages students and gives teachers the tools to facilitate water safety education. It's rewarding to see so many students gaining the skills and confidence to stay safe in and around water."

Drowning statistics show a rise from 15 years of age into young adulthood. The Bronze e-Lifesaving program teaches students survival skills, rescue techniques, and basic emergency and first aid care, equipping them to effectively manage scenarios that may endanger their own or others' safety around water.

"It's important to couple these theory sessions with practical skills, so completing a Bronze Star or Bronze Medallion in addition to the e-Lifesaving program will ensure teens have strong swimming skills and reach National Swimming and Water Safety Benchmarks for 12 and 17 years of age," said Ms Larsen.

Mercedes College in South Australia is one of the many schools that has embraced the program over the past decade.

"We have implemented the Bronze E-Lifesaving online course at Mercedes College for the past 10 years for our Year 8 students. We have used this in the lead-up to our Year 8 Aquatics Camp and have found it relevant to the year level for water safety and risk-taking behaviours around water," said Mercedes College Middle School Teacher Daniel Caire.

"We have also aligned this course with our First Aid unit, and the course has been a fun way to engage students through videos, real-life scenarios, and activities for them to complete as a class, in small groups or individually. The students seem to really engage with the content, and the program provides teachers with discussion points and examples to use with their classes."

Hale School Head of Health and Physical Education Kane Greenaway said that during COVID-19, the online program became a key learning tool for students at his school in Western Australia.

"We first began using the Bronze e-Lifesaving course through necessity during the COVID online learning period in 2020, and we were so impressed with the quality and interactive nature of the resource that we have since integrated its use into our Bronze Medallion course with our Year 10 students each year.

"The online modules that the students complete complement the practical component of the Bronze Medallion course," said Mr Greenaway.

Royal Life Saving Australia is grateful to the Australian Government for their ongoing support in developing and maintaining the Bronze e-Lifesaving program. Their commitment has been essential in making this education accessible to schools nationwide.

While celebrating this milestone, Royal Life Saving Australia encourages more schools to incorporate the FREE Bronze e-Lifesaving program into their lesson plans.

For more information and to get involved in the program, please visit Royal Life Saving Australia Bronze e-Lifesaving.

Read more testimonials from schools that incorporate the Bronze e-Lifesaving program into their course curriculum:

"St. John's College in Nambour has been using the e-Bronze course with our Year 10 Recreation Studies students over the past three years. The students love working on this platform as it provides a range of different learning experiences for them. They love how it is interactive, and results are immediately obtained once each Unit and Module is completed. This adds great value to our Community Pool Bronze practical course we run."

Liza Costa, St John's College, Queensland
Health & Physical Education
Sport & Recreation, Recreation Studies Teacher

"We have used the Bronze e-Lifesaving course in our Year 9 Drop in the Ocean class. It has been a great introduction to water safety and has allowed us to discuss this topic in theory lessons as well as practise skills learnt in our practicals. Students have found the course engaging and a great resource for this content."

Glen Robertson, Kardinia International College, Victoria
Head Of House - Thomson Higashi