FAMILY and friends united last week to celebrate the life of Nathan Matthews, who drowned during a supervised school visit to a sports centre.

A memorial service was held at Thame Leisure Centre on Tuesday, July 12, to mark the anniversary of 11-year-old Nathan's death.

A rosebush was planted at the back of the building from where the tower at Stokenchurch can be seen close to where Nathan lived.

A gold plaque was laid down by the family, inscribed with the words "A fun-loving boy who lived life to the full".

Reverend Janice Pettipher, from Stokenchurch Methodist Church led the service, and prayed for all victims of drowning.

Nathan's dad and siblings all wore football shirts with "Nathan" written on the back, or simply "Nath".

Friends and family were joined at the service by Nathan's former classmates from Stokenchurch Primary School.

David Laver, Thame mayor, attended the service as representative of the town council.

He said the council were doing everything they could to prevent a similar tragedy happening again.

He added: "It is upsetting for everybody involved the family, the centre managers and the town council who have ultimate responsibility."

Nathan (below) was pulled from the shallow end of the Thame Leisure pool on Monday, July 12 last year where he had been swimming with classmates from Stokenchurch Primary School.

An inquiry was opened into how his death occurred, but parents Penny and Terry Matthews still have unanswered questions about the circumstances surrounding the tragedy, and a date for an inquest has still not been set.

Mr Matthews said the lack of progress had left the family feeling bitter. He said: "We are a year on and nothing has changed. It is very upsetting for us."

The family have consulted with drowning experts from America and Australia in their quest to find out what happened to their son.

They have also set up a website campaigning for computer-aided drowning detection systems to be installed in all public pools. Mrs Matthews claimed it would cost only £1.75 per child per year to install them in all of the swimming pools in the UK. She added: "Something has to be done to improve safety. This is an ongoing process but I won't let Nathan die in vain."