British Swim School

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — British Swim School, North America’s leading “learn to swim” provider, announces with deep sadness the passing of its founder, Rita Goldberg, on Tuesday, January 7, 2025. A trailblazer in water safety and swim lessons, Goldberg’s passion and vision revolutionized how swimming lessons are taught, emphasizing survival-based techniques.

Rita Goldberg founded British Swim School in 1981 in Manchester, England. Channeling her drive, resilience and charm she was determined to conquer all the naysayers and local bureaucracy of the time to build a pool in the basement of her Victorian house, creating the country’s first indoor children’s swim school.

In the following years, she dedicated countless hours refining the gentle and highly effective teaching methods that remain a hallmark of British Swim School today. These methods, developed with care and precision, have stood the test of time, remaining the backbone of the British Swim School teaching methodology over the last 40 years.

In 1991, she brought British Swim School to North America, where it grew into a successful franchise system with lessons offered in rented pools through partnerships with fitness centres and hotels.

A former national swimmer, Rita’s tenacity earned her the nickname “British Bulldog “in her adopted home of the US. In 2019, British Swim School was acquired by Buzz Franchise Brands as part of her intention to ensure the school could reach even more children. Despite stepping back, her influence and teaching methods remain at the heart of the program.

“This is incredibly sad news for everyone in the British Swim School family,” Ashley Gundlach, President of British Swim School. “Rita’s passion and energy for our mission to teach survival-first swimming skills continues to inspire our instructors, franchisees, and families across the British Swim School community. Her legacy will live on.”

The British Swim School family mourns the loss of an extraordinary leader, mentor, and water safety advocate.

Founder Rita Goldberg steps out of CEO role as new partnership is announced to drive brand’s future growth

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Rita Goldberg, founder and CEO of professional swim lesson franchise British Swim School announced that she has sold the business she started over 35 years ago. Multi-brand franchise company Buzz Franchise Brands out of Virginia Beach, VA will become the largest stakeholder in the new partnership.

Goldberg started British Swim School in the basement of her Manchester home in 1981. Ten years later she brought the business to the U.S. and in 2011 she began franchising the business. Since then the brand has grown to nearly 200 schools in 21 states and an international presence in Canada and Turkey.

“I’ve been in this business almost 40 years now, and I could not be prouder of what we have accomplished in the past eight years growing this into a business that provides almost 17,000 swim lessons for children each week. Through this work we are teaching vital water survival skills and combatting the many lives lost to drowning. For this to continue, and for British Swim School to leverage its growth opportunities, it was time to bring in some partners to support that growth,” says Rita.

One of those partners is long-time franchising professional Greg Longe, who will take the reigns as CEO of British Swim School. Most recently Longe was Chief Operating Officer for The Huntington Company, a multi-brand franchisor concept primarily focused on dry cleaning and textile restoration, with brands such as Martinizing and Certified Restoration Drycleaning Network (CRDN). Previously he served as President of Roosters men’s grooming centers and Service Brands International, as well as founding various business concepts.

“I have worn a lot of hats in the franchising industry, and I am thrilled to leverage that experience to lead this reputable brand’s growth in the years to come. The mission of British Swim School is powerful, to save children’s lives by teaching water survival skills, and I am proud to be a part of that,” says Longe.

This is the first franchise acquisition for multi-brand franchisor Buzz Franchise Brands, led by CEO Kevin Wilson. Buzz Franchise Brands is parent company to pool cleaning and maintenance franchise Pool Scouts, currently operating in nine states, and residential cleaning brand Home Clean Heroes, which began franchising late last year. The company’s first brand was Mosquito Joe, which was sold to Neighborly out of Waco, Texas in August 2018.

“Our passion and expertise is in building young franchise brands, and we are thrilled to bring British Swim School into the Buzz Franchise Brands family,” says Wilson. “Historically we have built brands from the ground up, but Rita and her team have already built a strong base of operations with British Swim School. We are excited to support the continued growth for the brand.”

For more information on British Swim School visit https://britishswimschool.com, and for more on Buzz Franchise Brands visit https://buzzfranchisebrands.com.