article: 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 couldn'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.
highlights: 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 .
  Belinda Cheney said she would write to Government chiefs to find out why .
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