Izaiah Smith, 15, drowned on April 4 in Beckenham Park Place lake after getting into difficulty while swimming.
Hundreds of tributes have poured in for the popular rising football talent with an “infectious smile”
Izaiah was pulled from the lake around 10.40pm after he went missing and the lake was shut with security in place while police investigated what had happened.
But PTP Coaching, which runs swimming in the lake, announced it was due to reopen for swimming yesterday (April 23).
It said in an email seen by the Standard: “We will be reopening Beckenham Lake tomorrow and really hope to see lots of you over the coming weeks. We’ve really missed you all.
“We want to acknowledge the tragic incident that took place at the lake before Easter.
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this heartbreaking event.
“Our team, and we know all of our community, have felt this deeply.
“As we return to normal operations, we kindly ask that you respect the privacy and wellbeing of our staff by not approaching them for details, or discussions about what happened.
“Our focus — as always — is to provide a safe, welcoming space for everyone, and we appreciate your support and understanding.”
It comes after police made a direct appeal to the public about the dangers of open water swimming following the “heartbreak”.
Chief Inspector Rob Ranstead, leader of the Met’s Marine Policing Unit, said: “We see the heartbreak and devastation these preventable tragedies cause – with families changed forever in a matter of seconds.
@itxlovii my angel 💔. forever iziaiah’s world
“Open water may appear calm and inviting, but it can be dangerously deceptive.”
This devastation was expressed by Izaiah’s friends, family and football club.
His football team Dorking Wanderers FC said it was “impossible to find the words to explain what a tragedy this is”.
People who knew him shared touching tributes on social media of memories they had of him, with hundreds of condolences being left under a News Shopper post sharing the news of the incident.
SEDA Academy added: “We are absolutely heartbroken by this news.
“Izaiah was such a bright light within our programme.
“We all had so much time for Izaiah. He touched so many lives within our academy family.
“Our deepest condolences go out to his family and friends during this incredibly difficult time.
@romz.t 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞. ❤️🕊️ 𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐝𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐢 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐦𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐦𝐞. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. #𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐒 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 #LLIS #LLIizaiah ♬ original sound – kayode
“The players and coaching staff at SEDA Academy will forever cherish the memories we shared with Izaiah.
“We hope our dear Izaiah rests peacefully. You will always be in our hearts.”
The police were called shortly after 3pm on April 4 after reports that Izaiah had “got into difficulty in the water”.
Specialist diving teams, ambulance crews and firefighters helped in the search before he was found around seven hours later.
Izaiah was recovered from the water and taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Izaiah’s family have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.
His death is being treated by the please as “unexpected but not suspicious”.
