Active Leeds at John Charles Centre for Sport, Leeds

Why it stands out

The main pool is 50 metres and splits into three sections, so lessons can run alongside lane swimming instead of needing a separate teaching pool

A diving pool with platforms at 1, 3, 5, 7.5 and 10 metres plus springboards sits next to the main pool

The wider site adds a 68 station gym, 12 tennis courts, an 8 rink bowls hall, 10 astro pitches and a 50 metre athletics track under one roof

Full accessibility kit: level entrance, lift to every floor, an accessible changing and shower room, pool hoist, transfer hoist, tactile signage and an induction loop

General swim sessions are turn up and pay with no booking, though lessons themselves are timetabled and follow the Swim England Learn to Swim pathway

Our verdict

This is the same city-wide price as any other Active Leeds pool, £32.50 a month for juniors and £36 for adults plus a £15 joining fee, so the reason to pick it over a smaller centre is the building, not the fee. If your child gets overwhelmed by big, echoing venues, this is probably the wrong pick: it's a large multi-sport complex with a 10 metre diving platform next to the lesson pool, not a quiet neighbourhood pool, and lessons share the site with a busy public gym and a full sports complex. Book it for the facilities and the accessibility kit, which is better than most, but don't expect the intimacy of a smaller pool.

What it is

John Charles Centre for Sport is Leeds City Council’s largest sports venue, and its pool hall is built for competition as much as for lessons: a 50 metre main pool that can be split into three separate sections, sitting next to a diving pool with platforms up to 10 metres and springboards. Active Leeds runs the same Swim England Learn to Swim pathway here that it runs across the city, delivered by STA-approved teachers to a minimum level two qualification, but the setting is a large multi-sport complex rather than a standalone local pool.

Who should book

Children, teens and adults who want group lessons at a large sporting facility and don’t mind sharing a building with 12 tennis courts, an 8 rink bowls hall, 10 astro pitches, a 50 metre athletics track and a 68 station gym. General swim sessions here don’t need booking, you just turn up and pay on the day, though the timetabled lessons themselves are structured and progress through stages like anywhere else in the Active Leeds system.

What stands out

The accessibility provision is genuinely thorough: a level entrance with automatic doors, a lift to every floor, an accessible changing and shower room, a pool hoist and a transfer hoist, tactile signage and an induction loop. That’s a step up from a typical neighbourhood leisure centre, and worth knowing if you’re weighing up which Leeds pool to commit to for a child or adult who needs it. The diving pool and the divisible 50 metre main pool also mean lessons can run without shutting down lane swimming for everyone else, which isn’t true everywhere.

The verdict

Price-wise there’s nothing to choose between this and any other Active Leeds pool in the city; the pathway and the direct debit are set centrally, not by venue. What you’re actually choosing is the building: a big, multi-sport complex that hosts diving and competitive swimming alongside lessons, versus a smaller, quieter site elsewhere in Leeds. Families who want that scale, or who need the accessibility kit, should book here. Anyone who wants a calmer, more contained pool for a nervous beginner should look at a smaller Active Leeds centre instead.

Active Leeds at John Charles Centre for Sport

Who it suits