Last week the Year 5 student broke four records at the school's annual swimming carnival at East Maitland Pool, continuing a tradition he has set in recent years.

This year's effort was his best so far though. Some of the records he broke were long standing records that have stood for years. And he didn't just break them - he smashed them.

"I couldn't walk as fast as some of the times he was setting," school principle Andrew Brown said.

Beau, whose preferred strokes are butterfly and breaststroke, showed his versatility by not only winning the 50 metres in those strokes, but also in backstroke and freestyle.

His 50 metres freestyle time of 32.65sec broke the previous best, set way back in 1995, by a full second.

But that was just the start. He broke the backstroke record by two seconds and then took an amazing five seconds off the existing butterfly record.

His breaststroke time of 45.46sec eclipsed the record that had stood for more than 20 years.

The 10-year-old has been swimming since he was just 2. He has always had a willing ally in older brother Blake who moved on to high school this year after also dominating in the pool at the annual carnival.

Despite the early wake up calls at 5.30am most mornings for training, the young athlete said he wouldn't have it any other way.

"I love getting into training. I swim six days a week for an hour and half each day. My favourite stroke is butterfly," he said.

As for his record breaking feats, Beau admitted said he was surprised but "proud" of his achievements.

"My previous personal best for the freestyle was 34sec which I'd only just recently recorded, so I didn't expect to break the record," he said.

Like all young swimmers, Beau is aiming high.

"I want to compete in the Olympics one day," he said.

Principle Brown was not surprised by Beau's achievement, describing the youngster as "a lovely kid, well balanced, conscientious and disciplined".

Beau's parents Watrne and Casey Burton originally started the boys is swimming classes at a young age simply to teach them to swim and make them confident in the water.

Their boys' passion for the water was obvious from the start and has only grown as they have become older.

Next year, in his final year at the school in year 6, Beau will be chasing some of his older brother Blake's records.

That's life in the fast lane.