British Swim School is a pioneer of gentle, non-traditional infant water safety programs. Based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, British Swim School uses a revolutionary water survival program that is gentle and fun to teach children and adults the most important water survival skill – the ability to float on their back. The back float is considered the most important water survival skill, as it enables swimmers to rest, breathe and call for help, alleviating the “silent” danger of floating face down. British Swim School’s motto is “survival of the littlest” and indeed their program is geared to enable the very young to survive an accident in the water.
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History of British Swim School
The CEO and Founder of British Swim School is Rita Goldberg, a national swimmer and dedicated swim instructor in Britain. In 1981, after working in the education system for many years, Rita opened her own private swim school in the basement of a Victorian house in Manchester, England. It was there that she began to develop the unique teaching methods that have become a recognized trademark of British Swim School. Goldberg’s methodology has evolved over the last 33 years, teaching water safety survival skills to children as young as three months old.
British Swim School first launched a franchise program in October 2011 as part of its strategic national growth initiative. As the leading cause of death among children ages 1-4, drowning claims an average of 3,500 lives every year in the United States. British Swim School has made it a mission to help prevent these tragic deaths with a two-step curriculum that teaches children and adults of all ages water safety and survival skills first, swimming skill development second.
While parental supervision is always the number one safety measure, research shows that participation in formal swim programs such as British Swim School can reduce the risk of drowning by 88 percent among children who are most at risk for deaths caused by drowning. Conducting an average of 250,000 swimming lessons each year, British Swim School reaches more than 7,000 students per week, some as young as three months old.
To accomplish its mission and fill an increasing demand from parents seeking a program that aims to teach their child to survive a water accident, British Swim School is rapidly expanding throughout the country. While other swim concepts require a large expense for pool construction, British Swim School’s business model allows franchisees to lead classes from pools in existing fitness chains, residential buildings, therapy pools and hotels, which drastically decreases the initial investment costs.
British Swim School is ranked in Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 and is one of Entrepreneur Magazine’s “Top 50 New Franchises.”
Their business model offers a low investment (because it’s home based and you rent the pool time) of around $75,000 “all in”, and a relatively quick ramp up time. As a franchisee, you will contract with pools in fitness centers, schools, hotels and sports clubs – bringing revenue to those hosts for an underutilized loss leader facility. It’s a win/win situation.
This business appeals to extroverts and “people” people who have an affinity for coaching and mentoring. Franchisor is seeking those who are passionate about saving lives, are family focused and like children, and have some business or management background. The most successful owners (of British Swim Schools) have the business and management drive to really take the concept to the next level. The Franchise Owner will, of course, be encouraged to be a part of the swim school and can instruct as much as they’d like, however, the most successful owners are focused on growing their businesses through their networking and marketing efforts.
For more information about British Swim School and other franchise opportunities contact us here.
