THOUSANDS of Welsh school children have learned how to stay safe on the beach thanks to lifeguard education sessions.

The RNLI's popular Hit the Surf and Meet the Lifeguards schemes delivered beach safety information and training to 16,000 youngsters in 2015.

The Hit the Surf programme, where primary school children don wetsuits and spend half a day on the beach with RNLI lifeguards learning about beach safety and picking up basic surf skills, saw 3,652 children take part on four beaches, including Tenby and Whitesands.

Another 12,530 children took part in Meet the Lifeguards sessions, where fully trained RNLI lifeguards visit schools to talk with classes about the best ways to have fun safely on the beautiful Welsh beaches.

Elin Jones, RNLI Lifeguard Community Engagement Supervisor, said: “The RNLI’s educational programmes have grown massively in Wales this year and to have helped more than 16,000 children stay safe at the beach is testament to the hard work of the lifeguard team who delivered the sessions.

“We challenge kids to take what they learn in the sessions home and share it with their families and friends and it was satisfying to see so many children coming up to our lifeguards on the beaches this summer talking about what they’d learned.”