Top swimmer’s school expands at a stroke
A FORMER international swimmer who did not achieve her dream of winning an Olympic gold medal is expanding her swimming school, which was set up to help other people achieve theirs.
Angela Wilson became Scottish National Champion at 11 and was selected for Team GB aged 15. She competed in the World, European and Commonwealth Games, but ill health forced her to retire. She was also diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder and suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Angela’s Swim School, which she says does not just teach people how to swim, but to ‘reach their full potential and be the best they can be’, has 18 franchises in the South-East.
Now Wilson has negotiated a package with Metro Bank so franchisees can borrow up to 70 per cent of the franchise fee over five years to use as working capital. She plans to expand into the Midlands.
Turnover for the first quarter of 2017 is up 70 per cent against the same period last year, which was 74 per cent up on the first quarter of 2015.
Wilson said: ‘My aim is to encourage people to use the setbacks and disappointments they have suffered as a motivation to succeed in their lives. I believe that the drive and determination it takes to learn to swim can help rebuild confidence and give people the enthusiasm to go out and make a success of their lives, particularly, if like me, they suffer from a disability.’
The school’s pupils have won medals in the World Transplant Games, competed in Rio 2016 and two have been selected for Team GB for Tokyo 2020.