3-9 March 2025

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in partnership with Be Well and other local organisations, is proud to celebrate International Women and Girls Week 2025 with a week-long programme of community sports and physical activities for females aged 5 to 50+.

From swimming and boxing, to self-defence, badminton, basketball, and football tournaments, this initiative is about more than just sports – it’s about breaking barriers, creating opportunities, and empowering women and girls across the borough.

We’re committed to making these activities as accessible and affordable as possible, ensuring that more women and girls can take part, get active, and enjoy the benefits of movement.

By getting active together, we’re aiming to improve health, boost confidence, and strengthen communities. Whether you’re trying something new or rediscovering a passion, this week is all about celebrating movement, inclusion, and the power of women in sport.

The full schedule, including how to book various activities, can be found in the programme below.

Join us and be part of the movement!

This Ramadan, we’re here to help you stay on top of your fitness goals!

Whether you’re looking to maintain your routine or start a new one, we’re making it easier than ever by extending our gym hours all month at Mile End Park Leisure Centre – open until 11pm on weekdays.

Prefer an energising post-iftar session to wind down your day? No matter your schedule, we’ve got you covered to fit around your Ramadan routine.

Extended opening hours

🗓️ 28 February – 30 March 2025
🕚 Monday to Friday | 6am-11pm
📍 Mile End Park Leisure Centre, E3 4HL

Taking a break?

If you’re planning to pause your workouts during Ramadan, no problem! You can freeze your membership for the month for free and pick up right where you left off – keeping all your benefits at the same price when you return.

🔹 Freeze by 4pm on 27 February to pause your membership.
🔹 Unfreeze anytime when you’re ready to return.

However you choose to spend the month, we’re here to support you every step of the way.

Wishing you a healthy and fulfilling Ramadan!

Ready to make a difference and gain valuable life skills?

Be Well’s free lifeguard training programme is back! Open to individuals of all backgrounds, this is your opportunity to learn life-saving skills, build confidence and kickstart your career in leisure.

Since taking over the borough’s leisure centres, Be Well has been dedicated to creating inclusive opportunities for all residents. Develop essential skills and contribute to your community – all at no cost to you!

We’re offering two training groups: one mixed and one exclusively for women.

All applicants must meet the prerequisites and pass a swim test to apply.

Course details 

Course 1 – mixed (men and women) lifeguard training

• Course dates: Monday 17 February to Friday 21 February 2025
• Location: Poplar Baths Leisure Centre 
• Assessment date: Saturday 22 February 2025
• Training is daily from 9am to 5pm at Poplar Baths Leisure Centre

Course 2 – women’s only lifeguard training

• Course dates: Monday 17 February to Friday 21 February 2025
• Location: Tiller Leisure Centre, E14 8PX
• Assessment date: Saturday 22 February 2025
• Training is daily from 9am to 5pm at Tiller Leisure Centre

Swim test dates 

There are two swim test dates for the training groups – please come to the appropriate training session.

• For course 1: Mixed (men and women) lifeguard training – Saturday 1 February at 12:00pm at Poplar Baths Leisure Centre
• For course 2: Women’s only lifeguard training – Wednesday 5 February 12.30pm at Mile End Park Leisure Centre

Unfortunately, we’re unable to organise swim tests outside of these times.

Prerequisites for applying

• 16+ years of age on the date of assessment
• Be able to jump/dive into deep water
• Be able to swim 50 metres in no more than 60 seconds
• Be able to swim 100 metres continuously on front and 100m continuously on back
• Be able to tread water for 30 seconds in deep water
• Be able to surface dive to the floor of the pool
• Be able to climb out of the pool unaided without using a ladder/steps where the pool design permits

Please email Jessica Johnson to register: jessica.johnson@towerhamlets.gov.uk.

Be Well has launched its new swim school, Be Well Swim Well, at Mile End Park Leisure Centre on 4 December, to celebrate a new offer for residents to become confident and safe swimmers. 

Adopting Swim England’s – the national governing body for swimming in England –Learn to Swim Framework, Be Well Swim Well provides:

• Qualified, newly upskilled instructors.
• Smaller classes for more focused attention and instruction.
• Dedicated lessons for each swim stage, including special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) lessons.
• Clear progression through stages with structured lessons and paths.
• Official certification to celebrate every milestone.

The launch featured contributions from James Paramore at Swim England, highlighting the new partnership with Tower Hamlets and the vital importance of swimming as a life skill.

To encourage community collaboration, in October, Be Well held a competition with local primary schools to select a new name and mascot for their swim school. 

Winner Inayaah Rahman from Mayflower Primary School designed ‘Bubbles the Be Well Duck,’ the official mascot for Be Well’s swim school, and winner Musa Hussain from Osmani Primary School created ‘Octosafe’, a swim safety companion encouraging children to follow essential swim safety rules.

The winners and their schools attended the launch where they were honoured with prizes recognising their creativity and participation.

 Cabinet Member for Culture and Recreation Cllr Kamrul Hussain said:

“Drowning remains one of the most common causes of accidental death in England.

“Tower Hamlets Council is committed to improving leisure services while promoting water safety and helping residents develop stronger swimming skills.

“Swimming is a vital life skill that improves fitness, boosts confidence, and ensures safety in and around water, making it an essential part of building a healthier and safer community.”

To find out about swimming lesson stages and to book your place, visit our swimming lessons on the website. 

The festive season is here! As you take time to celebrate, connect, and recharge, Be Well is here to take care of your health and wellbeing needs.

Check out our Christmas opening hours below!

£1.5 MILLION of additional funding is to be invested in leisure facilities in Tower Hamlets, as part of the council’s commitment to support healthier communities.

This funding adds to previous investments of over £4.8 million to upgrade the spa at York Hall, Mile End Park Leisure Centre football pitches, and essential systems across all six operating centres, including boilers, pool pump systems, heating and ventilation.

The new upgrades and refurbishments across the Be Well leisure centres include:

1. Women’s only gym at Poplar Baths Leisure Centre

Transforming the former café space at Poplar Baths Leisure Centre into a brand-new women’s only gym facility, complete with a cardio and free weights area, and dedicated functional and stretch zones.

2. Mile End Leisure Centre wet change facility

Reconfiguring the existing wet change facility to include more individual/personal cubicles, enhanced disability access, and improved family facilities, ensuring a modern, user-friendly experience that meets customer needs.

3. Mile End Park Leisure Centre Health Suite

A renewal and expansion of existing sauna, steam and spa facilities for an enhanced health suite experience.

4. Whitechapel Sports Centre Health Suite

Refurbishment of the currently closed steam room and sauna facilities at Whitechapel to enhance the service offering and provide an upgraded wellness experience for customers.

5. Women’s only gym at York Hall Leisure Centre

Creating a flexible gym facility, designed to support dedicated women-only programming, improving inclusivity and delivering a tailored fitness experience.

6. Pop up crèche facilities and equipment at Poplar Baths, Mile End Park and Tiller Leisure Centres

Introducing pop-up crèche facilities and equipment to support a new service, providing added convenience for customers.

7. Water play and sports hall inflatables across all centres

Investing in innovative ‘pop-up’ inflatable play and swimming pool facilities to create an engaging programme of activities for children and families.

Cllr Kamrul Hussain, Cabinet Member for Culture and Recreation said:

“While leisure centres across the country are closing, Tower Hamlets Council is bucking the trend and investing further in upgrades for our Be Well leisure service. 

“These upgrades will enhance service delivery for our residents and customers, paving the way for the development of new programmes and an improved range of offerings.

“In May 2024, the management of seven borough leisure centres was bought in-house following the end of the contract with GLL (Better).

“The new service, Be Well, has since welcomed 17,000 new members.”

Ends

A day of free and fun activities for women was held at Tiller Leisure Centre on the Isle of Dogs on 9 November, as part of a drive to empower women and girls in the borough to engage in fitness, health, and wellbeing activities. 

Over 170 women took part in the ‘takeover’ day, organised by Be Well, Tower Hamlets Council’s Leisure Service, which included boxercise and self-defence classes, as well as pool inflatables and swim clinics to help strengthen swimming abilities.

Local women’s groups, including Shadwell Women’s Group, took part in the day, with the all-female staffed Tiller Leisure Centre also offering a pop-up creche and access to wellbeing advice from Tower Hamlets Talking Therapies. 

Fetuma Hassan, Tower Hamlets Young Mayor, officiated the event and said:

“Remaining active isn’t just a way of building lifelong habits for physical wellbeing but it’s also a space for young women to find a community, make friends, reduce stress and improve mental health.

“By creating spaces for women, we can build a foundation for a healthier, more resilient community.”

Cllr Maium Talukdar, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education, Youth and Lifelong Learning said:

“Connecting residents to health and wellbeing services is vital for building a thriving community.

“In our borough, where health disparities persist, residents live unusually long amounts of their life in poor health – especially women who are more likely to be inactive and therefore have shorter life expectancy.

“The Mayor, with support from the council’s Public Health team, has made it a priority to close the health inequality gap through physical activity.

“When residents have access to the right support, without barriers, they’re empowered to make healthier choices and improve their quality of life.”

Cllr Kamrul Hussain, Cabinet Member for Culture and Recreation said:

“Be Well’s vision is to create a community where women and girls have access to inclusive leisure services and reduce the barriers that were encountered previously.

“The council is committed to investing in its leisure offer to support healthier lifestyles and create spaces and initiatives that encourage greater participation from women.

“In July, Be Well launched a free swimming programme for women and girls in the borough, as well as for men over 55, breaking down barriers to health and fitness and creating more accessible opportunities.”

“We expanded our offerings in October with free swimming clinics for women and girls to build confidence and strengthen swimming skills, supporting a lifelong skill of safety in the water.”

“As well as supporting wellness journeys, these initiatives address a critical need – only half of individuals from ethnically diverse backgrounds can swim 25 metres, and women of all ethnicities are even less likely to meet this criteria.”