Bunka pools UK

ACCESS TO SWIMMING WILL NOT IMPROVE WITHOUT VIABLE INFRASTRUCTURE.

The latest BBC analysis of Department for Education data shows that in 2024/25:

• 28% of Year 6 pupils did not meet the 25m standard
• Only 55% met it in the most disadvantaged schools, compared with 83% in the least disadvantaged
• Safe self-rescue fell to 50% in the most disadvantaged schools
• In London, 37% left primary school unable to meet the standard

The BBC also reports that most school groups receive around six weeks of 30-minute sessions.

My view is focused on infrastructure, access and delivery.

Throughout Bunka’s start-up journey, we have sat with national governing bodies, travelled across the UK and spoken with teachers, clubs, operators and industry professionals from around the world.

After hundreds of hours of conversations, the same issue keeps coming back:

Access to infrastructure.

There simply isn’t enough suitable, reliable and affordable water space.

Schools are expected to deliver a physical outcome without guaranteed access to the physical environment needed to achieve it.

Most schools cannot fund, build or operate a traditional swimming pool. Existing facilities are often ageing, oversubscribed or under financial pressure.

Then there are the wider delivery challenges:

• Identifying genuine demand
• Finding suitable land or buildings
• Securing planning permission
• Meeting structural, energy and accessibility requirements
• Creating a sustainable operating model

At Bunka, we have developed the product, delivery model and wider team needed to navigate these stages—from demand and site assessment through planning, engineering, construction and operation.

This is the foundation of Project 2030 and Bunka 500.

But the model has to work from every side:

• Delivery
• Sustainability
• Accessibility
• Profitability

No one likes talking about profitability when discussing public access, but the reality is simple:

If infrastructure doesn’t make money, it cannot operate, maintain itself or attract investment.

Eventually, there is no service.

Profitability should never come at the expense of access. It is what allows access to continue.

Our objective is to deploy year-round swimming infrastructure into the school system without requiring upfront CAPEX from schools—supported by community use and a commercially sustainable operating model.

That will require schools, clubs, councils, government, investors, engineers and experienced delivery partners working towards the same outcome.

If you represent any of these groups—or understand the problem and want to help develop the solution—please comment or message me directly.

Because if swimming is part of the curriculum, access to water cannot remain a postcode lottery.

The infrastructure has to work—physically, operationally and commercially.



www.thebunkapool.com

Our new Bunka website is now live.

There’s still plenty more to add and update, but it’s a work in progress and will continue to grow alongside the business.

Over the coming months, we’ll be sharing regular updates and blogs from our live projects—giving you the opportunity to follow each Bunka build from the early planning stages through to installation and completion.

Watch the builds come to life, from start to finish.

Take a look: www.thebunkapool.com

BUNKA — British Modular Aquatic Infrastructure British engineered modular aquatic infrastructure for schools, communities, hydrotherapy and commercial environments.

Does your primary school need a swimming pool?

For many children, school is their only opportunity to learn to swim.

Yet every year, thousands leave primary school without meeting the national curriculum for swimming.

Not because they don’t want to…

But because their school simply doesn’t have access to a pool.

At Bunka, we believe that has to change.

That’s why we’ve developed the National Swim Access Project — an innovative modular swimming pool solution designed to bring commercial-quality swimming facilities directly to schools and local communities.

Imagine a future where every primary school can give children the confidence, life skills and water safety education they deserve.

✅ More children achieving the national curriculum.
✅ Reduced transport costs and lost teaching time.
✅ Greater access for SEND and additional learning needs.
✅ Community swimming outside school hours.
✅ A healthier, safer future for the next generation.

Teachers. Headteachers. Governors. Parents.

If your school had the opportunity to install an affordable swimming pool… would you support it?

Let us know in the comments.

Every comment, like and share helps us reach another school that could benefit from this initiative.

Learn more about the National Swim Access Project:
👉 https://www.thebunkapool.com/national-swim-access

Explore Bunka Group:
👉 https://www.thebunkapool.com

Together, we can make swimming accessible for every child.

For the last several years, we’ve been asking one simple question…

Can commercial swimming pools be delivered differently?

Not just better engineered.

Not just faster to install.

But more accessible to the communities that need them most.

Every development we’ve made to Bunka has been driven by that goal.

From the evolution of Bunka Mk2™, to our structural engineering, modular construction methods and integrated building solutions, every improvement has had a purpose.

Now, we’re taking the next step.

We’re developing a modular aquatic facility designed to help bring high-quality swimming provision closer to schools, communities and organisations that have traditionally been priced out of permanent facilities.

This isn’t about replacing traditional swimming pools.

It’s about creating another route to delivering them—faster, more efficiently and with significantly less disruption.

There’s still work to do, but we’re excited about what’s coming.

If you’d like to see the concept and learn more about the vision behind the project, take a look below.

🔗 https://www.thebunkapool.com/national-swim-access

We’d love to hear your thoughts.

National Swim Access Project — BUNKA BUNKA’s long-term initiative to improve access to swimming through modern British engineering and infrastructure.

The best engineering never stands still.
The Bunka pool

The commercial swimming pool industry has relied on many of the same engineering principles for decades.

At Bunka Group, we believed there was a better way.

Over the last several years, our team has challenged conventional thinking, redesigned core components and continually refined every aspect of the Bunka platform.

The most significant evolution has come over the last 12 months with the transition from Bunka Mk1™ to Bunka Mk2™.

Every improvement has been driven by one objective…

To engineer a stronger, smarter and more robust modular commercial swimming pool system.

The result includes:

✔️ Stronger structural steel design
✔️ Independent structural engineering calculations
✔️ British steel fabrication
✔️ BS EN 1090 compliant manufacture
✔️ Improved hydrostatic load distribution
✔️ Redesigned modular steel framework
✔️ Larger structural members where required
✔️ Improved installation methodology
✔️ Integrated service and pipework strategy
✔️ Bunka Barrier System™ (B³):
• Hot-dip galvanised steel
• Marine epoxy protection
• Hard Top protective finish

Alongside the engineering, we’ve continued to expand the wider Bunka ecosystem, developing complementary systems designed to improve every stage of project delivery.

• Bunka Mk2™
• Bunka Core™ System
• Bunka Barrier System™ (B³)
• Bunka Pool™
• Bunka Build™
• Bunka Volt™
• Bunka Protect™

While we’re proud of how far the platform has evolved, we don’t believe engineering innovation has a finish line.

Development of Bunka Mk3™ is already underway, with the next generation of enhancements planned for next year.

That’s the Bunka philosophy.

Never standing still.

Never accepting “good enough.”

Always challenging ourselves to improve.

Because when clients invest in long-term infrastructure, they deserve a platform that has been independently engineered, continuously refined and built to perform for decades.

This is only the beginning.

Engineered to Perform. Built to Last.

🌐 www.thebunkapool.com

A National Vision to Ensure Every Child Can Swim

Every year, thousands of children leave primary school without meeting the National Curriculum standard for swimming.

For something that is not only a curriculum requirement but also a life-saving skill, we believe that has to change.

At Bunka Group, we’ve developed the National Swim Access Project—a long-term initiative to help schools across the UK provide accessible, affordable and sustainable on-site swimming facilities.

By combining British engineering, modern modular construction and a practical delivery model, we’re creating facilities that reduce travel time, increase teaching opportunities and allow schools to deliver swimming where it matters most—on their own site.

This isn’t just about building pools.

It’s about creating equal access to swimming education, supporting schools, strengthening communities and giving every child the opportunity to develop a skill that could one day save their life.

We’re now looking to work with schools, academy trusts, local authorities, swimming providers and national organisations who share this ambition and want to help shape the future of school swimming.

To learn more about our vision, visit our new website:

🌐 www.thebunkapool.com
The Bunka pool

If we want to improve swimming outcomes across the UK, we need to start thinking differently.

Every child deserves the opportunity to learn to swim.

Lee Waterworth
Founder/CEO
Bunka Group Ltd

💭 What if every school had better access to water?

Every child deserves the opportunity to learn to swim.

Yet for many schools, providing regular swimming lessons isn’t as simple as it should be.

Limited pool availability.
Travel time.
Transport costs.
Disrupted timetables.
Growing demand.
Fewer accessible water spaces.

The result?

Too many children miss out on developing one of life’s most important skills.

And swimming is about so much more than sport.

🛟 Safety.
Giving children the skills and confidence to stay safe around water.

💙 Confidence.
Helping young people overcome fears and achieve something they’ll remember for life.

🤝 Community.
Creating opportunities that support schools, families and local organisations.

🌊 Inclusion.
Making swimming more accessible for children of all abilities and backgrounds.

✨ Possibility.
Giving schools more opportunities to deliver the experiences every child deserves.

Across the UK—and around the world—we know there are schools looking for better access to water.

We’re passionate about helping create those opportunities.

If you’re a school, academy trust or community organisation that believes access to swimming could be improved, we’d genuinely love to hear from you.

And if you think this could benefit your local school or community, please share this post with your network.

One conversation could create opportunities for hundreds of children every single week.

Together, we can create more water space.

❓Could better access to swimming make a difference at your school?

The biggest thing we keep hearing right now isn’t:
“Does the industry need more water space?”

Because everyone already knows it does.

The real conversation is affordability.

How do operators actually make projects stack up financially in today’s market?

That’s where most projects stop.

At Bunka, we’ve spent a huge amount of time looking beyond just the pool itself and focusing on the wider picture:

• modular delivery
• phased growth
• reduced construction time
• simplified installation
• finance support
• operational flexibility
• alternative site strategies
• commercial scalability
• staged development options

Because the reality is…
every operator is different.

Some want a long-term permanent facility.
Some want a stepping stone.
Some want to start smaller and expand later.
Some need support navigating finance, planning or landlords.
Some simply need a more realistic route into the market.

This is exactly why we don’t believe there should only be one way to create commercial water space anymore.

The industry needs flexibility.
The industry needs options.
And most importantly…
people need solutions that can actually move forward.

That’s the direction Bunka continues to focus on.

Not just building pools.
Helping make projects possible.

www.bunkapool.co.uk

The conversations we’re now having across America are becoming very real.

And what’s interesting is they all seem to lead back to the same thing:

The current model for creating water space isn’t working fast enough anymore.

Operators want more control.�
Communities need more access.�
Swim schools need flexibility.�
And traditional development routes are becoming harder, slower and more expensive to deliver.

Meanwhile demand for learn-to-swim continues to grow.

This is exactly why Bunka was created.
Not as a temporary solution.�Not as a “pop-up”.�But as a commercially focused modular aquatic system built around modern operators.

Over the last few months we’ve seen serious interest building across:

Texas.�Ohio.�California.�New Jersey.�Florida.�Massachusetts.

And honestly?

It feels like the beginning of something much bigger.
America is waking up to modular aquatic infrastructure.

And we’re coming.

🇺🇸

If you’re looking at creating water space differently, now’s probably the right time to start the conversation.

www.bunkapool.co.uk

We believe we’ve found one of the most viable routes forward for increasing water space in the UK.

A model that removes many of the barriers that have slowed this industry down for years.

* Faster delivery
* Easier planning pathways
* Lower upfront risk
* Modular expansion
* Better use of existing space
* Strong community integration
* Commercial sustainability
* Long-term flexibility
* Scalable infrastructure
* Reduced operational friction

The interesting part?

The more conversations we have, the more people start arriving at the same conclusion.

Maybe the future of aquatic infrastructure doesn’t need to follow the same blueprint it always has.

Maybe it needs to become:
more adaptable,
more practical,
more commercially realistic,
and easier to deploy where it’s actually needed.

Because right now demand isn’t the problem.

The problem is the gap between needing water space… and actually delivering it.

We think that gap is finally starting to close.

— Lee Waterworth
Founder, Bunka Pool
www.bunkapool.co.uk