[Jen S]

Hi everyone,

Following a recent discussion in the pub, I'm wondering what people's views are to the ideal instructor:student ratio. Now, I'm talking about new divers here, not more advanced training.

I've heard differnent reasons for each. Some of the reasons I've heard are:
1:1 - full student/instructor contact. 100% of instructors time is given to the student.
1:2 - Student still gets a lot of instructors time, student also gets to learn to dive as a buddy pair.
1:4 - Instructors can teach more people at once.

Now, I'm interested to hear from both instructors and new divers. What do instructors feel most comfortable with/ works best? New divers, what works best for you/ makes you feel safer?

I've always believed 1:2 is the ideal. Instructor can observe both trainees at once, trainees learn to dive as a buddy pair and don't become 100% reliant on the instructor. By this I mean, I've seen people who have learnt 1:1 & when they finally get let out in the big wide world, their confidence isn't great because the only people they've ever dived with is an experienced diver. There's also the issue of teaching rescue stuff. I don't think it's ideal to teach this 1:1, as how can the instructor assess this properly when they're being rescued?

Anyway, that's my thoughts, but I'm want to know what others think. So, what's your views?

Jen