Children from Arrowtown, St Joseph's, Southern Lakes Christian and Remarkables schools will follow a six-week course teaching them how to be safe in the pool and in lakes and rivers.
Lakes Leisure Aquatics manager Alex Calwell said the programme equipped children between the ages of 5 and 13 with the skills to help them swim, survive and stay safe in and around waterways.
Practical lessons in water safety included how to wear lifejackets, safely enter and exit the pool, river safety and survival swimming techniques.
Mr Calwell said children were also taught never to swim alone and always let someone know where they were going.
A boating session with Kawarau Jet on Lake Wakatipu also helped the children apply their "in pool" knowledge to real-life situations.
This year, more than 540 pupils are taking part in the Learn to Swim programme, a 20% increase on the previous year's 450 children.
Kawarau Jet director Andrew Brinsley said the company jumped at the chance to help educate Wakatipu children about water safety.
"Kids are so good at becoming programmed with the safety message - simple things they can go around and remind dad about.
"They'll [learn] to understand how difficult it can be to get back into a boat when you've got a life jacket on and different ways [of doing that]."
