WHEN it comes to water babies learning to swim faster than anyone else, there can be few better teachers than Olympic and Commonweath star Angela Wilson.

The 29-year-old teaches more than 400 children every week in Sidcup, Dartford and Hextable and her pupils start from as young as 18-months-old.

Angela, from Monterey Close, Bexley, said: "All the children have reached extremely high standards for their age and they are the best swimmers in their particular school.

"One of the main reasons I feel the children are swimming so well is due to the way they have been taught."

She said: "Being an ex-international swimmer I spend a lot of time on teaching the children about technique which is the key to getting great swimmers.

"The children can not only swim great distances but they can swim all four strokes perfectly.

"People have commented on how they look like mini versions of myself, which is a great compliment."

It is no wonder the compliments are rife as Angela's water babies are pushing the boundaries to the limit.

Nine-year-old Jessica Paige and Natasha Sinah, eight, can swim a length (25m) in under 18 seconds and both have swum 3,000m in under 90 minutes.

The pair started with Angela when they were three-years-old and they are hotly-tipped to challenge for a place on the London 2012 swimming squad.

Other Olympic hopefuls are Georgina Farrow, seven, who began swimming aged two and now she can complete 2,500m in one hour 25 minutes and Isobel Rietkirk, nine, who completes the same distance in one hour 20 minutes.

Angela said: "All three have great potential to become brilliant British swimmers and I would love to see them do well and go on to the Olympics."

She added: "All children should have the opportunity to learn to swim properly. Not only is it a great life-saving skill it will also help them keep fit and healthy."

This ethos is passed down the line to other pupils including Bertie Paige, five, who has swum 800m in 45 minutes.

Other superstars are Hannah Taylor, seven, who swims 400m in 20 minutes; six-year-old Pippa Lench who only takes half-an-hour to swim 800m and Amelia Rietkirk, seven, who completes 1,500m in 60 minutes.

Seven-year-old Chloe Curtis swims 1,000m in 40 minutes while Chloe Stephens, also seven, swims 1,500m in 50 minutes and six-year-old Sabrina Sinah who started aged 18 months now swims 600m in 30 minutes.

Angela turned to teaching children when her own career was cruelly ended by illness and injury.

She said: "I was selected to swim for Scotland when I was 12-years-old and I won 16 gold medals in the Kent county championship and 14 medals in the Scottish Nationals.

"I was also selected for the Olympic training squad for Barcelona in 1992."

Angela was denied the trip to Spain after the Great Britain selectors decided to include in the squad just two swimmers from her level and unfortunately she was number three.

When you consider 1992 is the only year in GB swimming squad history that two rather than three members have gone to the Games, Angela was very unlucky.

But two years later Angela was part of the GB team which went to Canada for the Commonwealth Games and she came sixth.

She said: "My goal was to win a gold medal in the Olympics but a broken arm and glandular fever forced me to give up.

"So I took up teaching the sport which gives me so much pleasure."

To join one of her swimming classes call Angela on 07990 570423 or 01322 556748.