The good news for Surrey families is that a toddler can start gymnastics from as early as four months old, long before they can walk. Classes for children under three run at The Little Gym Camberley (GU15 3PT), Silvermere Gymnastics in Cobham (KT11 1EQ), Spelthorne Gymnastics in Sunbury (TW16 6LP) and at Tumble Tots franchises across the county. Most are parent-and-child sessions, structured but playful, and priced around £8 to £13 for a 45-minute class.
This guide is written for parents and carers trying to work out where to start. It covers the age brackets, what a first class actually looks like, what to pack, the difference between the big franchise programmes and the local clubs, and the ten toddler-focused venues in Surrey worth knowing about.
When can a toddler start gymnastics?
The honest answer is: earlier than most parents expect. Classes for babies from around four months (still on their tummy, working on head control and grip) run at The Little Gym in Camberley and Godalming, and at Silvermere in Cobham. Once a child is crawling and cruising, the next tier of "walking to 2 years" classes opens up, and by 2.5 to 3 years there are dedicated preschool gymnastics classes at almost every club in the county.
What changes at each age is not the level of skill, but the level of independence. Under 3, a parent or carer is on the floor with the child, guiding them through the equipment. From 3, most children can join a class on their own with a coach, while parents watch from a viewing area. British Gymnastics, the sport's national governing body in the UK, sets the recreational preschool framework that most Surrey clubs follow, so the progression is broadly consistent from venue to venue.
The other thing to know is that no toddler class is trying to produce a competitive gymnast. It is about balance, coordination, spatial awareness, and getting comfortable with equipment like beams, mats, bars and trampettes. A child who does an hour of gymnastics a week at two years old will not be doing back handsprings at five, but they will move more confidently.
The ten Surrey toddler gymnastics options at a glance
| Venue | Location | Youngest age | Class type | Parent joins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Little Gym Camberley | Camberley GU15 3PT | 4 months | Franchise programme | Yes, to age 3 |
| The Little Gym Godalming | Chiddingfold GU8 4QD | 4 months | Franchise programme | Yes, to age 3 |
| Silvermere Gymnastics | Cobham KT11 1EQ | 4 months | Club, Bouncing Babies | Yes, under 3 |
| Weybourne Gymnastics | Addlestone KT15 3JE | 0 (Stay & Play) / 2.5 (class) | Club | Yes for preschool |
| Spelthorne Gymnastics | Sunbury-on-Thames TW16 6LP | 4 months | Club | Yes, under 3 |
| Flair Gymnastics @ Guildford Spectrum | Guildford GU1 1UP | Preschool | Club at leisure centre | Yes for preschool |
| Tumble Tots Addlestone/Cobham/Byfleet | Various KT14/KT15 | 6 months | Franchise, small groups | Yes, all sessions |
| Tumble Tots Epsom & Ewell | Epsom KT18 5AQ / KT17 2SA | 6 months | Franchise, small groups | Yes, all sessions |
| Star-Tastic Gymnastics | Epsom KT18 7NQ / Tadworth KT20 5FB | 2 | Club | Yes for parent-toddler |
| Good Life Gymnastics | Esher KT10 0AQ | 3 | Club | Not for the 3-6 class |
The camps and activities in this guide have been included based on parent recommendations, Google ratings and publicly available information. KidzRGoGo has no commercial relationship with any provider listed and does not approve, inspect or endorse them. Always check directly with the provider before booking, particularly for current pricing, availability, British Gymnastics affiliation and safeguarding policies.
The franchise programmes: consistent, indoor, purpose-built
Two brands run programmes specifically for toddlers across multiple Surrey sites. Both have their own kit, their own space, and a curriculum that does not change from venue to venue. That consistency is worth knowing about if you are new to gymnastics, or if you want to move between towns without your child having to start over.
The Little Gym: Camberley and Godalming
The Little Gym Camberley sits inside The Atrium shopping centre on Park Street, on the corner with Southwell Park Road. The postcode is GU15 3PT, and there is car parking at The Atrium itself. Google ratings sit at 4.9 from 88 reviews.
The programme runs from four months to 12 years, split into Parent and Child (4 months to 3 years), Pre-K (3 to 6 years) and school-age classes. Under 3, a parent or carer is on the floor for the whole 45-minute session. From 3, the coach takes over and parents watch from a sofa area with a glass wall onto the gym. Fees are membership-based at around £75 per month, which covers one class a week and open-gym sessions, and there is usually a one-off joining fee.
Its sister site, The Little Gym Godalming, is at The Villagers, Woodside Road, Chiddingfold GU8 4QD. Rated 4.8 from 82 reviews. Same programme, smaller and more rural site, easier parking, and it draws families from Godalming, Haslemere and Milford. Worth booking a taster session at both if you can, because the two spaces feel different even though the curriculum is identical.
The honest trade-off with The Little Gym is cost. If your child does one class a week, the monthly membership works out at roughly £17 to £18 per session, which is at the top end of the local range. What you get for that is a purpose-built room, mixed-ability class sizes of around 8 to 10, and a very toddler-friendly programme structure.
Tumble Tots: Addlestone, Epsom, Ewell and around
Tumble Tots is the older of the two national programmes and runs a slightly different model: 45-minute classes in hired halls, with a 6:1 child-to-adult ratio and small equipment (climbing frames, beams, mini-trampettes) that gets set up and packed away each week.
The local franchise led by Jenny Emery covers Tumble Tots Addlestone (KT15 2NJ) plus sessions at Claygate, Cobham and Byfleet. The Epsom franchise covers Epsom classes at KT18 5AQ and Ewell classes at KT17 2SA. Both are rated 5.0 on Google (small samples: reviews are in single figures because most parents review the venue rather than the class provider).
Tumble Tots divides classes tightly by age: 6 months to walking, walking to 2 years, 2 to 3 years, 3 years to school age, then Gymbobs for the reception-age group. Parents stay on the floor throughout. Sessions cost around £8 to £11 per class depending on venue and franchise, usually paid termly.
The honest trade-off with Tumble Tots is that the venues are shared halls (church halls, community centres, leisure centres). The floor is set up for you and it works well, but there is no climbing frame permanently in the room and no viewing gallery. That said, the age banding is unusually precise and the coaching is consistent, which is why the programme has run in the UK since the 1970s.
The local clubs with real preschool programmes
The other option is a British Gymnastics-affiliated club with a dedicated preschool programme. These are usually less expensive per session than the franchise brands, run out of a permanent gym with full-size equipment scaled down for younger children, and are the natural starting point if you can see your child staying with the sport as they get older.
Silvermere Gymnastics, Cobham
Silvermere Gymnastics is at Unit 1, Bramley Hedge Farm, Redhill Road, Cobham KT11 1EQ. Rated 4.7 from 54 Google reviews. The preschool programme is the most complete in the area, with five classes covering ages 4 months to 5 years:
- Bouncing Babies from 4 months (parent-and-child, focused on tummy time, grip and floor work)
- Teeny Tots from 18 months to 3 years (walking, climbing, first beam and bar work)
- Tiny Tumblers for the older preschoolers
- Stay and Play, a parent-supervised open session for under-5s
- Gymnastics 4-5 years, more structured for children moving toward the primary-age class
Parking is on site and the space has a viewing area. Silvermere is one of the clubs Surrey parents mention when a first child moves into competitive squad and they want the younger sibling to start early in the same gym.
Weybourne Gymnastics Club, Addlestone
Weybourne Gymnastics Club is at Unit 2, Canal Bridge Works, Byfleet Road, New Haw, Addlestone KT15 3JE. Rated 4.4 from 96 Google reviews, which is one of the largest review pools of any gymnastics club in Surrey. The preschool class is aimed at 2.5 to 4 years and runs for 45 minutes.
Weybourne also runs a Stay and Play session for children 0 to 4, Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 12:30 throughout the year. This is a strong option if you have a younger baby and an older toddler, because you can drop in without committing to a term. The phone line for booking is 01932 842058.
The trade-off: Weybourne is a proper gymnastics gym on an industrial estate. Parking is easy but the surroundings are not pretty, and the entrance is functional rather than welcoming. Once you are in the gym, though, the equipment is genuinely impressive.
Spelthorne Gymnastics, Sunbury-on-Thames
Spelthorne Gymnastics is at Laytons Lane, Sunbury-on-Thames TW16 6LP. Rated 4.2 from 65 Google reviews. The programme has real range at the bottom end: baby gymnastics from 4 to 12 months, preschool 1 to 2 years, preschool walking to 4 years, and an open Playtime session for children under 5.
Wednesday and Friday morning classes tend to fill first because they suit families with older children in school. The Sunbury site is on the northern edge of the county and pulls in families from Shepperton, Ashford, Walton and Weybridge.
Flair Gymnastics, Guildford
Flair Gymnastics @ Guildford Spectrum runs preschool sessions inside the Spectrum leisure centre at Parkway, Guildford GU1 1UP. Rated 4.7 from 48 reviews. Its sister site, Flair Gymnastics at Surrey Sports Park, is at GU2 7AD on the University of Surrey campus. Rated 4.3 from 9 reviews. There is also a Woking site at GU22 9BA.
Flair's preschool class is parent-and-child, and preschool members get a guaranteed space in the foundation class when they graduate around age 4. This is important, because at some of the big clubs, foundation waiting lists are 12 months or longer. Starting in Flair's preschool programme is one of the more reliable routes into a Guildford Spectrum foundation slot.
The trade-off: parking at Guildford Spectrum is a big car park but it fills at weekends and evenings when the pool and ice rink are busy. Give yourself 10 minutes' buffer if you are driving in from the A3.
Star-Tastic Gymnastics, Epsom and Tadworth
Star-Tastic Gymnastics runs classes six days a week across Epsom (KT18 7NQ) and Tadworth (KT20 5FB). Rated 4.7 from 38 reviews at the Epsom site. The programme includes Parent and Toddler classes and Pre-School Gymnastics.
Star-Tastic runs its own halls in a shared community setting, and the smaller footprint means classes are on the intimate side, which suits nervous toddlers. Booking is via startasticgymnastics.com, and the toddler classes are the earliest to fill each term.
Good Life Gymnastics, Esher
Good Life Gymnastics runs at Hinchley Wood Secondary School, Claygate Lane, Esher KT10 0AQ. Rated 4.8 from 111 Google reviews, one of the highest-rated gymnastics clubs in the county. Its youngest class is 3 to 6 years, so this is a preschool option rather than a toddler one. There is no under-3 class.
That said, if your child is turning 3 and is on the confident side, this is a strong option. Class sizes are kept small and the coaching is well reviewed. Contact them on 020 3885 1303 or info@goodlifegymnastics.com.
What actually happens in a toddler gymnastics class
The pattern is broadly the same at almost every venue. A 45-minute class starts with a warm-up (music, hopping, running, animal walks) to get little bodies moving. Then there is a circuit around three or four equipment stations: a soft beam, a low bar, a mini-trampoline, a foam pit or landing mat. A coach demonstrates a simple skill at each station, then the children have a go with parent or coach support. The session ends with a floor game and a goodbye song.
At the under-3 end, "gymnastics" means climbing, rolling, hanging, balancing on a low beam, and jumping off a small block into a foam pit. There are no vaults, no cartwheels being taught, no back-bends. The building blocks are what will eventually become gymnastics, and they are the same movements toddlers do at soft play, just structured and progressive.
For a nervous child, the first session is often mostly watching. Coaches expect this. The Little Gym, Silvermere, Tumble Tots and Weybourne all offer taster sessions specifically so children can look at the room, meet the coach, and decide whether to join in.
How to choose the right class for your toddler
Three factors matter more than any other: age of the class (not just the age range, but the middle of the range), size of the class, and travel time. A class that is technically for "walking to 4 years" but is 80% four-year-olds will feel intimidating for an 18-month-old, and a class that is a 25-minute drive each way will start to feel like a chore by the fourth week.
If your child is very young (under 18 months), lean toward Silvermere Bouncing Babies, Spelthorne baby gym, or Tumble Tots' 6-months-to-walking class. Class content is closer to a structured playgroup than a sports session, and that is exactly right for that age.
If your child is 2 to 3 and already at nursery, the franchise programmes (Little Gym, Tumble Tots) tend to fit well because the age banding is tight and sessions are predictable week to week. If your child is 3 and confident, a British Gymnastics club programme (Silvermere, Weybourne, Flair, Star-Tastic, Good Life) sets them up for the foundation class when they are ready.
Book a taster before committing to a term. All ten venues in this guide offer them. If a venue insists you sign up for a term without a taster, that is a red flag, not because the class is bad, but because they should have the confidence in the class to let you try it first.
Practical information
Kit. Barefoot in the gym is standard everywhere. Girls typically wear a leotard or a t-shirt and leggings. Boys wear a fitted t-shirt and shorts. Loose clothing is a safety risk on beams and bars. Hair should be tied back. No jewellery. Take a water bottle. That is the whole kit.
Parking. The easiest by car are Silvermere (own car park), Weybourne (industrial estate parking on site), Spelthorne (on-site parking at the gym) and The Little Gym Godalming. Guildford Spectrum and the leisure-centre-based classes can be busy at weekends. Tumble Tots halls vary by venue: check when you book.
Accessibility and additional needs. Flair Gymnastics at Guildford Spectrum has SEND-specific gymnastics sessions listed. Several of the club-based programmes accept children with additional needs into mainstream classes with prior conversation; Silvermere, Weybourne and Good Life have all been mentioned by parents as accommodating. Ring first, tell them what your child needs, and ask what the coach-to-child ratio is on the day.
Booking. The franchise brands (Little Gym, Tumble Tots) book online via their own websites. Most of the local clubs book by term through iClassPro or their own site. Toddler classes fill in the last week of August (autumn term) and the first week of January (spring term). If you are looking at a September start, look now.
Frequently asked questions
What age can a child start gymnastics in Surrey?
From four months old at The Little Gym Camberley (GU15 3PT), The Little Gym Godalming (GU8 4QD), Silvermere Gymnastics (KT11 1EQ) and Spelthorne Gymnastics (TW16 6LP). Tumble Tots takes children from six months. Weybourne takes 2.5 years and up in its class programme, but under-4s can attend its Stay and Play sessions. The youngest paid-for structured classes in Surrey are baby gymnastics for 4 to 12 months.
Does a parent or carer stay in the class?
Under 3, yes, at every venue in this guide. The parent or carer is on the floor with the child throughout the class, providing support and encouragement. From 3 upwards, most classes are drop-off, with parents watching from a viewing area. The Little Gym transitions around age 3 to 3.5, Tumble Tots stays parent-and-child until school age.
What does toddler gymnastics cost in Surrey?
Per-session costs at the local clubs run around £8 to £13 for 45 minutes. The Little Gym uses a monthly membership model at around £75 per month, which works out at roughly £17 to £18 per class. Tumble Tots is paid termly, typically £8 to £11 per session. Most clubs charge a joining fee (around £30 to £45) plus a British Gymnastics membership levy for club members (currently around £22 per year for the youngest age band).
What should my toddler wear to their first class?
Fitted clothing. Girls: a leotard, or leggings with a fitted t-shirt. Boys: fitted t-shirt and shorts. Barefoot on the gym floor, so no need for trainers. Hair tied back. No jewellery. Bring a water bottle and, for the under-2s, a spare nappy in case.
How long is a toddler gymnastics class?
Almost always 45 minutes. This is long enough for a warm-up, a circuit around the equipment, and a floor game to finish, but short enough to hold the attention of a two-year-old. A few clubs run 30-minute sessions for babies under 12 months.
My child is really shy. Will they cope with a class?
Most toddler classes are set up expecting some children to watch for the first few weeks before joining in. Coaches do not push. If your child is unsettled, sitting on the edge of the floor with them and simply watching is fine. By session three or four, most children join in on their own. If they are still not joining in by session six or seven, the class may not be the right fit and it is worth trying a different venue or a smaller class.
Do the clubs run in school holidays?
Most terms follow the state school calendar and pause for half-terms and school holidays. The Little Gym runs holiday camps rather than regular classes, and Silvermere, Weybourne and Star-Tastic all run holiday clubs and half-day sessions for older preschoolers. Check with each venue for their current holiday schedule.
What is the difference between Tumble Tots and a gymnastics club?
Tumble Tots is a franchised programme run in hired halls with portable equipment. Classes are 45 minutes, age-banded tightly, and parent-and-child throughout. A gymnastics club (Silvermere, Weybourne, Flair) is a permanent, purpose-built gym with full-size equipment scaled for preschoolers, affiliated to British Gymnastics, and offering a progression pathway from toddler through foundation to competitive squads. Both are good starting points; the club is better if you can see your child staying with the sport as they get older.
Is my child too old to start gymnastics as a toddler?
No. There is no minimum starting age below 3 or 4 where children are "too late". Children who start at 3 or 4 will progress through preschool classes in the same way as those who started at 18 months. The main benefit of an early start is comfort in the gym environment, not a head start on skills.
Find more gymnastics and family activities in Surrey
For the full picture of gymnastics clubs across the county, including the classes for primary and secondary-age children that follow on from the preschool programmes, see the Children's Gymnastics Surrey guide. For a wider view of what is on for toddlers across the county, browse the Baby and Toddler category or the location pages for Guildford, Woking, Epsom and Cobham.
If you are just starting out with weekend family activities more broadly, KidzRGoGo lists over 500 venues across Surrey, from soft play to swim schools to forest school programmes. Browse by town or by activity type to find something for your Saturday morning.