Scuba Diving Selsey: PADI Courses at our Dedicated Dive Centre
Looking for scuba diving in Selsey?
Selsey sits at the southernmost tip of the Manhood Peninsula, surrounded on three sides by the sea and just a short drive from one of the South Coast's most impressive dive destinations. From the Mixon Hole to the Hounds reef and the waters around Selsey Bill, the underwater world on your doorstep is exceptional — and getting properly trained to explore it makes all the difference.
Based at Littlehampton Marina, we provide beginner-friendly scuba diving lessons and PADI courses for all levels, from complete beginners to advanced divers. Our dedicated facility includes a heated indoor training pool, small group instruction, on-site servicing and equipment support, all designed to help you learn safely and confidently from your very first session.
We regularly welcome divers from Selsey, Chichester, Bognor Regis and across West Sussex who are looking for a more structured and professional way to learn to scuba dive.
👉 Start your scuba diving journey near Selsey today.
Why Selsey Divers Choose Abyss Scuba School
Scuba Diving Training Near Selsey — Learn in the Right Environment
Selsey has one of the most active diving communities on the Sussex coast, and for good reason — the sites on its doorstep are genuinely world-class. But not all scuba diving training environments are equal, and how you learn matters as much as where you end up diving.
Many courses in the area are delivered around hired pool sessions at leisure centres or private pools not built for scuba training. At Abyss Scuba School in Littlehampton, scuba diving is the sole focus. Our dedicated dive centre at Littlehampton Marina features its own private heated training pool, small group sizes, and structured PADI instruction — a complete facility rather than a borrowed one. That's why divers from across West Sussex, including Selsey, Chichester, Worthing and Bognor Regis, choose Abyss Scuba School for a more professional and personal way to learn.
Private, Personal Scuba Diving Training near Selsey
Selsey has a strong connection to the sea and growing interest in scuba diving, but not every training option offers the same experience. Abyss Scuba School takes a different approach: small groups, personal instruction, and a dedicated dive facility where instructors know your name before your second session. If you want to learn to scuba dive properly in a calm, supportive environment, Abyss Scuba School in Littlehampton is just a short drive from Selsey.
A Private Heated Training Pool — No Sharing, No Waiting
Our heated indoor pool is completely private, no public swimming sessions, no shared lanes, and no leisure-centre timetables to work around. For people looking for scuba diving lessons near Selsey, this makes a huge difference. Your pool training is structured around your learning and confidence, not around limited pool availability.
A Unique Viewing Window — See Every Moment Underwater
Our pool includes a built-in viewing window at water level, something rarely found in UK dive centres. Parents can watch their child’s first underwater breaths, and nervous beginners can feel supported by friends or family from poolside. It’s a simple feature that completely changes the learning experience and something you’re unlikely to find in standard pool-based scuba training near Selsey.
One site for everything
Theory, pool training, equipment retail, cylinder fills, kit servicing all at the same marina location in Littlehampton. There’s no travelling between different venues or trying to coordinate training with a separate dive shop. For divers travelling from Selsey, Abyss Scuba School offers a complete scuba diving facility focused entirely on training, progression and ongoing support.
Calm, unhurried learning Just Outside Selsey
Learning to scuba dive should feel calm, structured and enjoyable from the very beginning.
Based at Littlehampton Marina, Abyss Scuba School offers a quieter and more relaxed environment than busy leisure centres or shared pool facilities. With free parking directly outside, easy access, and a dedicated scuba diving training facility, you can focus entirely on building confidence and enjoying the experience.
We regularly welcome students from Selsey and across West Sussex who are looking for professional scuba diving lessons in a more personal environment.
The only PADI Alternative Provision centre in the UK
We hold the only WSCC-approved Alternative Provision for scuba training in the country. Our DBS-checked team, including ELSA-qualified instructors, is experienced with SEND and SEMH learners and with children as young as 8.
Families and professionals from Selsey and across West Sussex choose Abyss Scuba School for a calm, supportive and structured environment that helps build confidence, communication and personal development through scuba diving and marine-based learning.
PADI Scuba Diving Courses Serving
Worthing, Selsey, Chichester, Brighton & Many more
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![Discover Scuba Diving with Abyss]()
Discover Scuba Diving with Abyss
The Taster Session. Experience the thrill of breathing underwater in our heated private pool. No experience needed—just bring your swimwear and a sense of adventure!
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![PADI Open Water Diver Course]()
PADI Open Water Diver Course
The Full Certification. The world's most popular scuba course. Learn the fundamentals and earn your license to dive to 18m anywhere in the world.
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![PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course]()
PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course
Level Up Your Skills. Fine-tune your buoyancy and explore new horizons like deep diving and navigation. No exams—just five themed dives to build your confidence.
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![PADI Re-Activate Course]()
PADI Re-Activate Course
Back in the Water. Haven't dived in a while? Quickly brush up on your skills and safety knowledge so you feel 100% ready for your next holiday or local trip.
Accessible Diving for Everyone
We offer the full range of PADI programmes at our private facility, tailored to your pace and goals. As the only PADI centre in the UK with a WSCC-approved Alternative Provision, we're known across West Sussex for making diving accessible to all not just those who find it easy. Our DBS-checked team includes ELSA-qualified staff with extensive experience supporting SEND and SEMH learners, and the calm, consistent environment at our Littlehampton marina facility is something Selsey families tell us is worth every mile of the journey.
🤿 Beyond the Pool
Once you've mastered your skills, the adventure continues. We run regular sea diving trips off the Sussex and Hampshire coast and from our local marina. We also use specialist inland sites including Vobster Quay and Stoney Cove for year-round training and advanced skills development.
👋 Join the Community
Becoming an Abyss diver means joining a thriving community. Our active dive club meets for local shore dives, boat trips, and social events and our WhatsApp community connects hundreds of divers across the South. Plus, you can join us on our escorted overseas holidays to explore world-class reefs with the instructors you already know and trust.
Selsey’s Diving Community and Where Your Certification Takes You
Selsey is widely regarded as one of the UK's top dive destinations, and once you're qualified you'll understand why. The waters around Selsey Bill are home to an extraordinary variety of sites suitable for newly certified and experienced divers alike. The Mixon Hole — a dramatic submerged gorge forming a near-vertical 20-metre clay cliff — is one of the most unique dive sites on the South Coast, rich with anemones, sponges, crabs, lobsters and sea squirts. The Hounds reef, part of the Selsey Bill and the Hounds Marine Conservation Zone, offers limestone outcrops teeming with marine life, while shore dives at the old Selsey Lifeboat Station are popular for sightings of seahorses and cuttlefish. Further out, the Far Mulberry — a scheduled Phoenix Caisson wreck — lies just 15 minutes by RIB from shore and attracts marine life enthusiasts, historians and underwater photographers in equal measure.
Depths around Selsey range from 8 to 40 metres, with wrecks, reefs and drift dives available as your experience grows. Inland sites including Vobster Quay and Stoney Cove provide excellent year-round training conditions whatever the weather, and Abyss Scuba School regularly visits these with students and dive club members. Once you qualify at our Littlehampton centre, you'll have the skills, the certification, and the community to start exploring all of it.
We also serve divers from Chichester, Brighton, Southampton and Portsmouth.
Visiting us from Selsey
Address
Abyss Scuba School
Unit 1C Littlehampton Marina
Ferry Road
Littlehampton
BN17 5DS
By Car: Abyss Scuba School is easily accessible from Selsey via the A27 and surrounding coastal routes, with most journeys taking around 35–50 minutes depending on traffic. Free parking is available directly outside the dive centre at Littlehampton Marina.
By Train: Regular rail services connect nearby stations including Chichester to Littlehampton station. From there, it’s a short walk or quick taxi ride to the marina, making it easy to reach us for scuba diving lessons and PADI courses.
On-Site Parking: Free on-site parking is available directly outside the dive centre with no charges or time restrictions.
On-Site Services: Cylinder fills, scuba equipment servicing, and a retail shop stocking brands including Fourth Element, Cressi, Suunto and DIVEVOLK are all available on-site at Littlehampton Marina.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Abyss Scuba School in Littlehampton offers PADI scuba diving courses from a private, dedicated dive centre at Littlehampton Marina — around 35 to 50 minutes from Selsey depending on traffic. With its own heated indoor training pool, small group sizes, personal instruction and on-site facilities, it is a strong choice for beginners and qualified divers from Selsey and the surrounding Manhood Peninsula.
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Absolutely. We regularly welcome students from Selsey and across the Manhood Peninsula, and Littlehampton is reachable via the A27 and coastal routes. Your theory and pool training take place at our Littlehampton facility, with qualifying open water dives completed at suitable local or inland dive sites — including sites close to Selsey itself.
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Our Discover Scuba taster session starts at £55 per person. The full PADI Open Water certification is £600 and includes use of our private heated pool and all required scuba equipment. Visit our Courses page for the full current price list.
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Children can start scuba diving from age 8 with the PADI Bubblemaker programme in our pool. From age 10, they can enrol in the PADI Junior Open Water Diver course. Our private pool and viewing window are especially popular with families, as parents can watch from poolside.
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No. When you train with Abyss Scuba School, all required scuba equipment is included for your course. As you progress, our on-site dive shop can help you choose your own mask, fins, wetsuit, computer or full kit when you are ready.
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Yes. Abyss Scuba School delivers a WSCC-approved Alternative Provision and our DBS-checked team includes ELSA-qualified staff. We have experience supporting SEND and SEMH learners in a calm, structured environment, using our private pool and consistent instructors.
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The PADI Open Water course is flexible. Many students complete theory and pool sessions over a weekend or a series of evenings, followed by four qualifying open water dives over two days. Our team will help you find a schedule that works for you.
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Selsey itself is one of the UK's top dive destinations. Once qualified, you'll be able to explore the Mixon Hole, the Hounds reef, shore dives at the old Lifeboat Station, and wrecks including the Far Mulberry — all within easy reach of home. Inland sites like Vobster Quay and Stoney Cove are also popular with Abyss students for year-round diving, and our active dive club runs regular trips to sites across the South Coast and beyond.
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The main difference is the facility. Abyss Scuba School has its own private heated training pool, a viewing window, small group instruction, on-site kit servicing, retail support and a dive centre built entirely around scuba training at Littlehampton Marina. You're not training in a hired leisure centre pool or a borrowed facility — you're learning in a dedicated environment with a team whose sole focus is scuba diving.
Ready to take the plunge?
West Sussex has a fantastic diving scene waiting to be explored. Take your first step at Abyss Scuba School in Littlehampton — and arrive at your first open water dive confident, capable, and properly trained from the very start.
