RKLSwims Wins Theo Paphitis #SBS Small Business Sunday Recognition 💙

From starting a swim school on an 18th birthday to receiving national recognition from one of the UK's best-known entrepreneurs…

This is a pretty special moment for RKLSwims.

In September 2026, RKLSwims was selected as a Theo Paphitis #SBS Small Business Sunday winner.

It's another milestone in a journey that started with a simple idea in Carmarthenshire: swimming lessons should adapt to the swimmer, not expect every swimmer to fit the same approach.

And somehow, that idea has grown into something much bigger.

What is Theo Paphitis #SBS?

#SBS — Small Business Sunday is an initiative created by entrepreneur and former Dragons' Den star Theo Paphitis to recognise and support small businesses across the UK.

Small businesses put themselves forward for recognition, with selected businesses joining the wider #SBS community.

In September 2026, RKLSwims became an #SBS winner.

Seeing the RKLSwims name receive that recognition was a significant moment for our entire team.

Because behind the swimming lessons, social media posts, and seemingly endless supply of rubber ducks is a story that started considerably smaller.

From an 18th Birthday to a Growing Carmarthenshire Swim School

RKLSwims was founded by Kitchener Duckworth on his 18th birthday.

The idea came from seeing a gap in swimming provision and believing there was room for a different approach.

Rather than building another swimming school around large classes and a one-size-fits-all structure, RKLSwims focused on something different:

Small classes.

Teachers supporting swimmers in the water.

Confidence before pressure.

And lessons adapted around the individual swimmer.

That philosophy remains at the heart of our swimming lessons today.

Creating Inclusive Swimming Lessons in Carmarthenshire

For some children, finding the right swimming lessons isn't as simple as choosing the nearest pool.

Some swimmers need more time.

Some need fewer people around them.

Some communicate differently.

Some need physical adaptations or additional support.

And sometimes a traditional swimming lesson environment simply doesn't work for them.

RKLSwims has developed particular experience supporting swimmers with Additional Learning Needs (ALN), disabilities and neurodivergence, alongside nervous beginners and swimmers who benefit from a more individualised approach.

Our programme includes 1-to-1 swimming lessons, 1-to-2 lessons and small group swimming lessons, allowing our teachers to adapt their approach around individual swimmers.

Because progress doesn't look identical for everybody.

For one swimmer, success could be swimming their first independent distance.

For another, it could be putting their face underwater.

For someone else, the breakthrough might simply be walking into the swimming pool feeling safe and excited to learn.

Every one of those achievements matters.

More Than Just Swimming Lessons

As RKLSwims has grown, so has our ambition.

What started with swimming lessons has developed into wider work around water safety, accessibility, inclusion and community engagement across Carmarthenshire and South Wales.

We've worked with families, community organisations and partner brands.

We've distributed water-safety resources.

We've supported swimmers beyond their weekly lessons.

We've watched children arrive nervous and eventually become swimmers who can't wait to jump into the water.

And, somewhere along the way, we've accumulated a slightly unreasonable number of rubber ducks. 🦆

There have also been plenty of late nights, changed plans, failed ideas and spreadsheets that somehow create even more spreadsheets.

That's the part of growing a small business that doesn't normally make the photographs.

Which makes receiving recognition through Theo Paphitis' #SBS even more meaningful.

What's Next for RKLSwims?

The exciting part?

We're nowhere near finished.

We're continuing to expand our swimming lesson provision and create more opportunities for swimmers across Carmarthenshire.

We're developing new partnerships.

We're growing our community and water-safety work.

And we're working towards our biggest ambition yet:

Creating a dedicated inclusive aquatic facility in Carmarthenshire.

Our vision goes beyond simply creating another place to swim.

We want to create an aquatic facility shaped by what we've learned directly from swimmers, parents, teachers and the communities we work with.

A facility where inclusion isn't an afterthought.

Where smaller and adapted swimming provision has a place.

Where water safety and education sit alongside swimming.

And where more people have the opportunity to develop a positive relationship with the water.

It's ambitious.

But RKLSwims has never been particularly interested in thinking small.

What Does Becoming an #SBS Winner Mean to RKLSwims?

Awards and recognition are exciting.

But for us, this one represents something more.

Being recognised through Theo Paphitis' Small Business Sunday gives our team another indication that the work happening behind the scenes is being noticed.

It belongs to the teachers who give swimmers the confidence to try something they couldn't do last week.

It belongs to the families who've trusted RKLSwims with their children.

It belongs to the organisations and partners who've supported what we're building.

And, most importantly, it belongs to the swimmers who give us a reason to keep improving.

Thank You From RKLSwims 💙

To every swimmer who has joined us.

Every parent who has trusted us.

Every member of the RKLSwims team.

Every organisation that has partnered with us.

And everyone who has shared a post, recommended RKLSwims to another family or supported one of our slightly ambitious ideas:

Thank you.

And to Theo Paphitis and the #SBS team, thank you for recognising RKLSwims and welcoming us into the #SBS community.

We're incredibly proud to be a Theo Paphitis #SBS winner.

But we certainly don't see this as the finish line.

We're only just getting started. 💙

RKLSwims - Swim Better, Swim Brighter.