Mermaid Academy: Reading's Fin-tastic New Way to Dive

Every summer we see the same thing happen at the pool deck: someone watches a mermaid tail glide past in a shimmer of turquoise fabric, and within a week they are on the phone asking how to book a session. With World Oceans Day falling on the 8th of June and peak season now in full swing, there has never been a better time to try something a little different from a standard scuba course. The Mermaid Academy is one of our six specialist academies here in Reading, and it genuinely surprises people with how much real skill, safety training, and water confidence sits underneath what looks like pure fun.

What Is the Mermaid Academy at Diving Academy?

The Mermaid Academy takes the physical discipline of freediving and combines it with monofin technique to teach safe, graceful underwater movement while wearing a mermaid tail. It is a structured, instructor-led programme, not a costume hire session. You will work with a qualified Mermaid instructor in our training pool, building skills progressively from basic finning through to underwater sequences, photography poses, and safe breath-hold practice. You can see the full course details and current dates on the Mermaid course page, where we list exactly what is included and what to expect from each level.

What makes it part of a proper academy structure, rather than a novelty class, is that every session is built around water safety first. Instructors are trained to manage buoyancy, breath-hold limits, and tail-specific hazards such as restricted leg movement, so that the fun stays fun and stays safe.

Who Is the Mermaid Course For?

We get a genuinely wide range of people signing up. Confident swimmers looking for a new water-based hobby, existing divers wanting a lighter, playful complement to their logbook, parents wanting a memorable family activity, and adults who simply loved mermaids as children and never quite grew out of it. You do not need any prior diving or freediving experience to start.

The main requirement is comfortable swimming ability. You should be at ease in deep water without a flotation aid, able to swim a reasonable distance unaided, and happy putting your face in the water. Beyond that, age and fitness ranges are broader than people expect, and our instructors will always assess and adapt the session to the individual in front of them rather than running a one-size-fits-all class.

Prerequisites and What You Need Before You Start

There is no certification prerequisite for the entry-level Mermaid course, which is part of why it is such a popular gateway activity during the summer months. You will need a swimming costume, a towel, and a willingness to get your hair wet. Tails and monofins are provided as part of the course, so you do not need to buy your own equipment before you know whether this is for you. A basic swim assessment happens right at the start of your first session, purely so your instructor can pitch the pace correctly.

What a Typical Mermaid Training Session Looks Like

Sessions run in our training pool and typically last around an hour. You will start on land with a briefing covering safety signals, breath-hold basics, and how the monofin changes your kick technique compared with ordinary swimming fins. In the water, your instructor introduces the undulating dolphin kick that powers mermaid swimming, has you practise it holding the pool wall or a noodle before adding the tail, and only then moves you into open water practice within the pool.

Later in the session, once your instructor is confident in your comfort and control, you will work on gliding, surface dives, and simple underwater poses that look fantastic in photos but are really just controlled applications of the same buoyancy and breath skills freedivers use every day.

Breath and Body Control

A large part of what people take away from Mermaid training is better breath control and body awareness in water, even outside the tail. Learning to relax, extend a comfortable breath-hold safely, and move efficiently rather than thrashing against the water are skills that transfer directly into snorkelling, freediving, and even general swimming confidence.

Safety Systems Behind the Fun

Every Mermaid session is run with the same safety discipline as our other academies. Instructors watch for early signs of fatigue, never push breath-holds beyond safe, comfortable limits, and use constant visual contact and buddy-style supervision throughout. Tails are designed with quick-release or easy-removal features so a participant can get free of the fabric instantly if needed.

Common Questions People Ask Before Booking

The question we hear most is whether you need to be a strong swimmer. The honest answer is confident, not necessarily fast. We also get asked whether the tails are heavy or restrictive. They take some getting used to, but the monofin inside does the work, and most people adapt within the first ten minutes. Parents often ask about minimum age, and we assess this case by case based on swimming ability rather than a fixed cut-off. Finally, people ask if this counts as diving. It does not use scuba equipment, but it absolutely counts as serious in-water skill development, and it sits comfortably alongside our other academies as a genuine discipline in its own right.

Why It's Worth Doing

Beyond the obvious fun factor and the photos that make brilliant social media content, the Mermaid course builds real fitness, core strength, and water confidence. For nervous swimmers, working through a structured programme with a supportive instructor can be transformative. For existing divers, it is a fantastic dry-season-adjacent skill that keeps you in the water and improves the finning efficiency and breath awareness that underpin good diving anyway.

Where the Mermaid Pathway Can Take You

Many students who enjoy their first Mermaid sessions go on to explore our Freediving Academy, since the breath-hold and relaxation skills overlap closely. Others simply keep coming back to the Mermaid course itself, working through progressive levels and eventually training toward becoming a Mermaid instructor. Either way, it is one of the most approachable entry points into structured underwater skill training that we offer, and it fits perfectly into a busy summer of family activities and long pool days.

What to Wear and Bring

Beyond a swimming costume and towel, there is very little you need to organise yourself. We supply the tail and monofin as part of the course fee, sized to fit you on the day, along with any noodles or floats used during early skill-building. Some returning students choose to buy their own tail once they know they love it, and we are happy to talk through the pros and cons of silicone versus fabric tails, cost ranges, and sizing when that point comes. Goggles are optional but many students prefer them, particularly during the early sessions before breath-hold comfort really settles in.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many sessions before I look like the mermaids in the photos. Most students see a real jump in control and confidence within their first two or three sessions, though smooth, photogenic gliding tends to develop over several weeks of regular practice, much like any new swimming skill. Is it tiring. Yes, more than people expect, since the dolphin kick uses core and leg muscles in a way ordinary swimming does not, so most sessions leave you pleasantly worn out rather than exhausted. Can I bring my own tail. Absolutely, provided it meets basic safety standards our instructor can check with you beforehand, including an easy-release mechanism.

Ready to give it a try? Take a look at the Mermaid course page for upcoming session dates, or get in touch to ask any questions - we're at Bellman Court, Great Knollys Street, Reading, or call +44 (0) 118 9761 729.