A coroner has questioned the lack of swimming in the national curriculum after Rony John , 15 , drowned on the first day of his summer holidays . A coroner has raised concerns over the lack of swimming lessons included in the national curriculum after a 15-year-old drowned in a river on the first day of his summer holidays . Rony John , 15 , died after jumping into the River Great Ouse in Hartford , Cambridgeshire , despite being unable to swim . At an inquest into his death , the coroner said she would now write to Government chiefs to ask why swimming is not included in secondary school education . The hearing heard that swimming is compulsory during primary school but is not enforced for those aged 11 or over . Assistant Cambridgeshire Coroner Belinda Cheney said : 'Swimming is not a difficult skill to learn yet it is a critical life skill . ' The hearing heard how Rony was with friends on the bank of the river in July last year when he dived into the water . When it was clear he was in difficulty , Rony 's friends desperately tried to rescue the teenager . A group of adults also attempted to bring the young boy to safety , while firefighters arrived at the scene within ten minutes . But an inquest heard how Rony was swept away by the current and would have died within four minutes of jumping into the water . His body was not found until the following day . The hearing , which took place in Huntingdon , Cambridgeshire , heard how Rony came to Britain from India in 2012 and did not know how to swim . According to his headteacher , Mr Bennet said he had been eligible for six 30-minute lessons a year at St. Peter 's School in Huntingdon . But Christopher Bennet said that he had also been excused from some of the sessions after taking notes to school , written by his family , requesting he not take part . Just weeks after Rony 's death , the school also cancelled swimming lessons for all older pupils . After the hearing , Mr Bennet said : 'Rony came to school at the beginning of year eight . As his family said in the inquest he needed help to stay afloat . The teenager was swimming with friends in the Great River Ouse at Hatford , Cambridgeshire in July last year . Firefighters were on the scene within ten minutes and his friends also tried to bring Rony to safety , but the young man could not be saved . 'Pupils of his age were entitled to six half-an-hour lessons a year and we know that for all of the lessons that took place he was in school . 'We know that he attended some of those lessons but he also came in with notes which could have come from the family stating that he could n't take part . ' He added : 'Swimming is in the national curriculum for primary school pupils but not for those in secondary education . 'We had to cancel lessons for secondary school pupils because of the cost and it would be beneficial to have extra provisions for those students . 'It is a life skill and at the end of the day we live on an island so we are never very far away from water . ' Tributes were left at the scene , on the bank of the river , following Rony 's death . His headteacher Christopher Bennet said he was a 'hugely popular young man ' He added that Rony was a 'hugely popular young man ' and there were plans for a memorial cricket match on the first anniversary of his death . Rony 's father John Thomas , from Huntingdon , told the inquest : 'He was extremely well-behaved . He was always a good boy . ' Yesterday , Moses Yitzchok Greenfeld , 19 , from Stamford Hill , London , drowned in Hampstead Heath pond after going for a swim with four friends in the 25C heat . His body was eventually discovered five foot below the surface and 20ft from the water 's edge just before 11pm on Wednesday - nearly six hours after he was reported in trouble at 5.30pm . It is thought Mr Greenfield may have had a cardiac arrest because of the shock of jumping into the cold water . It has since been claimed that police officers 'watched ' as the desperately tried to save their friend . An eyewitness has said at least seven police officers stood on a bank and watched as the boys dived in and out looking for their friend .
Rony John drowned in the River Great Ouse in Hartford , Cambs , in July . Inquest heard he was eligible for swim lessons but did not attend several . Coroner questioned why swimming is not compulsory at secondary school . Comment: