Whilst not a statutory component, swimming can be taught during physical education (PE) lessons in secondary schools in England. Therefore, this article presents ethnographic accounts of pupils’ and teachers’ perceptions and experiences of swimming in PE in one state-funded secondary school in northern England. Drawing on participant observations, 14 focus groups with 49 pupils, and interviews with nine PE teachers, this article details how pupils navigated the embodied, relational and emotional dimensions of swimming lessons, and the extent to which these differed between boys and girls. Empirical findings included pupils’ heightened feelings of embarrassment when changing into swimming attire, intensified social awkwardness through peer gaze when walking to the swimming pool, and participation avoidance strategies, particularly amongst girls. The way teachers accommodated, regulated and disciplined boys’ and girls’ feelings, preferences and behaviours differed. Pupils’ and teachers’ perceptions, experiences and behaviours, and gendered differences within these, are indicative of Elias’s (2012) conceptions of (gendered) civilised bodies in relation to the schooling of pupils’ bodies through structural, behavioural and relational social constraints. By examining data concerning pupils’ and teachers’ perceptions, experiences and behaviours, this article highlights the importance of PE teachers being alert to and accommodating cultural and gendered sensitivities associated with nakedness to mitigate boys’ and girls’ displeasure, fears, and avoidance of swimming.
Green et al. (2026) studied this question.