Introduction

Scuba diving is an incredible sport and hobby and there are an abundance of benefits for young people learning how to dive and becoming lifetime members of the diving community.  A fantastic way to learn is on a diving holiday, where the waters are warmer and students can enjoy the shared camaraderie and experience of learning together.

When considering a diving holiday for your school, college or university, it helps to have a little information about scuba diving as a sport and what’s involved in gaining a scuba diving qualification.  Please read the information here as it will provide a clearer picture of what to expect and may assist in forming the basis for discussion regarding your group’s requirements.

Please click on the links below to jump to different sections;

What is scuba diving?
The benefits of scuba diving for young people
PADI
The Open Water Diver qualification
Once qualified as an Open Water Diver
What if some of our group already have diving experience?
Why choose Freedom Adventures?
Teachers dive for free!
What next?
 

What is scuba diving?

Self
Contained
Underwater
Breathing
Apparatus

The ability to breathe underwater using scuba equipment gives access to a whole new world that otherwise can only be seen for a minute or two.  Despite how heavy and cumbersome the kit may look on the surface, once underwater, with the right buoyancy control, it is a weightless, graceful experience.  The kit that is specifically designed for recreational diving includes wetsuit, mask, fins, gloves, boots, fins, buoyancy control device, dive computer, pressure and air gauge, regulators, cylinder and more.  Divers with the Open Water qualification are certified to dive to a maximum depth of 18m and a typical dive usually lasts anywhere between 30 and 60 minutes, depending on the depth and amount of air used.  Tables and computers are used by divers to calculate the minimum surface time they must take between dives.  During training, Open Water students will complete a maximum of two dives per day.
 

The Benefits of scuba diving for young people

- Increases confidence
- Promotes a healthy lifestyle
- Provides a basis for learning outside the classroom
- Encourages teamwork, responsibility and independence
- Develops planning and organisational skills
- Fun, exciting, challenging and rewarding
- Genuine sense of achievement
- A hobby that can be enjoyed throughout life - whether building on qualification level or enjoying fun diving on holidays
- Become part of the diving community

PADI

The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) was formed in 1966 and made scuba training accessible as a recreational sport.  There are numerous organisations offering scuba training courses but PADI remains the largest and it’s qualifications are recognised everywhere in the world.  Today, PADI alone issues approximately 950,000 diving certifications every year.
 

The Open Water Diver qualification

Prerequisites

The PADI entry level qualification is the Open Water Diver and is open to everyone, provided they meet some basic prerequisites;

- Over 10 years of age
- Able to swim 200m unassisted
- Able to tread water for 10 minutes

Course content

The course is usually completed over four or five days and consists of;

Classroom – Theory based knowledge development to learn and understand the basic principles of scuba diving.  You learn things like how pressure affects your body, what to consider when planning dives, how the equipment works, how to communicate underwater, interacting with marine life and lots more;

Confined Water Dives – Development of basic scuba skills in a pool or confined lagoon.  Learn everything from setting up your scuba gear to how to easily clear your mask of water without surfacing.  Practice emergency skills, buoyancy control, hand signals and generally gain confidence breathing underwater.  There are five confined water dives, each with learning objectives to be completed;

Open Water Dives – This is where you fist get to fully experience the magic of the underwater world when you put all your learning and skills into practice, with your PADI instructor, at an open water dive site.  There are four open water dives.

Diving is a fun, exciting, adventurous and educational experience.  No two dives are the same but whether you are a total beginner or have been diving all your life, some common principles apply;

Always dive in pairs – Every diver dives with a ‘buddy’ (and guide unless very experienced / and an instructor if training).  Divers NEVER dive alone;

Thorough buddy and equipment checks are ALWAYS carried out prior to every dive;

Plan the dive, dive the plan – this is a well known saying amongst divers.  It means that a buddy pair (or group of divers) have a pre-agreed route around a dive site, have agreed and understand the hand signals to be used, know how each other’s kit operates, how much air is in the tanks, and so on;

Following every dive, divers record the dive in their log-book.  It includes information such as air used, the depth, water temperature, time underwater, marine life identified, pressure groups, who your buddy was.  It’s a great record to look back on and is used in the future if you decide take the next level qualification.
 

Once qualified as an Open Water Diver

Once certified, PADI Open Water Divers are qualified to dive for life and their qualification is recognised worldwide.  It is the start of a real passion for diving and many divers choose to further their training and certification with the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver, PADI Rescue Diver, Divemaster and even onto instructor training.  Once qualified as an Open Water Diver, there are also numerous speciality courses that a diver can embark on, such as Digital Underwater Photographer, Diver Propulsion Vehicle Diver, Drift Diver, National Geographic Diver, Underwater Videographer, Night Diver, Underwater Naturalist, Fish Identification and many more.  It is a whole new world!  Recreational divers can also further their qualifications and work in a professional capacity in areas such as aquarium maintenance in large public aquariums, offshore construction and maintenance, media diving and search and rescue, to name but a few.
 

What if some of our group already have diving experience?

It is not unusual for a large group to have one or more members who already have some diving experience.  For group members who already have their Open Water qualification (or equivalent), there is the option to undertake the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver or to choose a selection of speciality dives.
 

Why choose Freedom Adventures?

Professional

Although we operate to provide an experience that is fun, fun, fun, we remain professional throughout and Freedom Adventures customers have peace of mind in knowing that we have accreditation with a number of key authorities;

ATOL – Everyone who travels with Freedom Adventures is fully ATOL protected.  This means that in the unlikely event that something doesn’t go to plan, the cost of the holiday is covered and you wouldn’t be stranded aboard.

TTA – All members of the Travel Trust Association have to abide by a member Code of Conduct to ensure you receive the best possible level of service.  The money that you pay for your holiday is held in trust until you return.  This means that if anything should happen to Freedom Adventures, your holiday will go ahead as planned.

The Council for Learning Outside the Classroom – As members, Freedom Adventures are dedicated to the principles of The Council and are proud to provide young people with the opportunity to learn how to dive.  Diving provides a safe, challenging adventure that motivates young people and encourages responsibility, teamwork and on-going development and lifelong learning.

Experienced

Freedom Adventures have a wealth of experience in tailoring and organising bespoke diving holidays for large groups.  We work with schools, colleges and universities and are experienced in asking the right questions at the enquiry stage to ensure that your needs are fully identified from the beginning and that you and your group have the holiday you envisage.  All of the dedicated staff who make up the Freedom team are experienced divers with a minimum qualification of PADI Rescue Diver and have visited each and every one of our destinations.  This means that you will always be able to ask questions and seek advice from someone who has first-hand experience and knowledge.  The majority of the Freedom Adventures team also have a degree level qualification in Outdoor Adventure Management or similar. 

Personal service

At Freedom Adventures, we pride ourselves on our personal service and always go the extra mile to accommodate your needs and requirements.  Dependant on group size, one or more members of the Freedom team will accompany your group for the duration of your holiday.  This means that there is someone on-hand from the moment you meet up to travel to the airport, during the flights and transfers, and throughout your stay in resort.  We will be able to deal with any queries as they arise and assist in the organisation of your group, ensuring they are at the dive school on-time each morning, have all their packed lunches ready, are fitted out with all their kit and so on.  As all of our staff are experienced PADI divers, we will also accompany your group and instructors on open water dives.  We are there every step of the way to ensure the organisation of your group and the holiday is seamless.

Safety

We understand that the prospect of taking a large group of young people on an overseas scuba diving holiday can be a daunting one - for both the organisers and the parents concerned.  This is why we work with you and the parents to address any concerns.  Scuba diving is often perceived as a risky or even dangerous sport and this is perfectly understandable – after all, breathing underwater is pretty unnatural (for the first time, at least!).  In reality, diving accidents are relatively uncommon and to minimise the risks even further, Freedom Adventures adopts the following practices / codes;

Only the best dive schools - All our dive centres are accredited PADI 5 star Dive Resorts which is the highest possible standard.  In order to achieve and keep these accreditations, our dive schools have to prove that they meet elevated service and business standards and must excel in providing memorable scuba diving experiences, customer satisfaction, scuba diver safety, underwater environmental awareness and an outstanding, professional service.

Quality instruction and equipment - All of our dive centres employ only highly experienced and qualified British instructors and use only the highest quality scuba equipment.  They are inspected regularly to ensure that all health and safety standards and practices are being met and exceeded.

Low ratios - When working with groups, our instructors work to a maximum ratio of 1:6.  This ensures that each student receives the attention and quality of instruction needed to become a confident and safe diver.

Organisation

Arranging a large group holiday can be a big responsibility, especially when you still have your job to contend with and the administration, timing, booking and communication is in addition to an existing heavy workload.  Leave it to us – it’s what we do!  If you would like us to, we can cover the following at no extra cost;

Payment plans for parents – We can collect and administer all payments, saving you the time of chasing parents, keeping records, managing the finances, issuing confirmations and so on;

Administration – We will communicate with parents directly, ensuring they have completed all the necessary paperwork, such as booking forms, medical forms, consent forms, and so on.  We will also provide them with all the information they need such as kit lists, travel and insurance information, and be on hand to answer any questions they may have about diving specifically or the holiday in general;

Communication with students – We are often asked to design and provide posters to be displayed around the school and / or information packs for the students, to give them an idea of what diving is all about and what to expect during their exciting scuba diving holiday.  We’re also happy to come and visit your school and do a presentation to year groups about the benefits of diving as a sport and hobby;

Insurance – We can organise comprehensive insurance for your group so that all group members are covered under the same policy.  This means one set of paperwork for the whole group and ensures that the policy covers scuba diving.  Alternatively, if you are covered under your establishment’s own insurance, we are happy to review your policy and confirm that it is sufficient for your trip;

Accommodation – All of our accommodation is hand-picked to suit the needs of large groups and we liaise with the suppliers to secure the accommodation required by your group.  We will also arrange any special requirements as needed;

Transfers – We will organise in-resort transfers and transport to and from the dive sites.  If required, we can also organise transport to and from the airport in the UK.

Teachers dive for free!

We believe that accompanying teachers should be able to share in the adventure of their students.  The experience of diving provides the basis for so much discussion and it’s such a great thing to be a part of.  That’s why for every ten students, Freedom Adventures offer a free teacher’s place – both on the holiday and on the PADI Open Water Diver course.

What next?

We hope that you have found this document informative and we’re happy to answer any more questions you may have and to discuss the possibility of arranging a diving holiday with your school.  We have a wealth of experience and can provide your students with an adventure that will give them something to last a lifetime.  Diving really is a wonderful thing to get trained and involved in, it’s the door to a whole new world.  At Freedom Adventures, we’re all passionate about diving and we’d like to show you, first-hand and underwater, why… We guarantee, you’ll never look at the sea in the same way again!