The National Schools’ Regatta 2025
Last week saw pupils head up to Nottingham to take to the water and compete in the annual National Schools’ Regatta. The pupils faced fierce competition and challenging weather, but the Boys’ 3rd VIIIs triumphed in bringing home The West Cup, and the Girls’ 1st VIII took the bronze!
Read the report on the Regatta below:
Girls’ 1st VIIIs – Report by Natasha Townsend:
‘When we arrived at Nottingham, we were told that Sunday’s racing had been cancelled due to the strong winds. This meant the Girls’ VIIIs time trial and final would now be moved to the Saturday. The girls were in great spirits weren’t phased by the change of timetable.
We got up to race the time trial on Saturday morning with a clear focus on sticking to our rhythm and not thinking about the outcome. The girls raced really well, especially in such windy conditions, placing second which put them in good stead for the final. The lanes were seeded for the final as the winds continued and made the lanes unfair. The girls and their cox Zaki came away with a bronze medal, and to place third at a National Schools’ Regatta is something they should all be very proud of! We are now focussing our efforts on Henley Women’s Regatta and the Henley Royal Regatta which starts on the 1st of July.’
Boys’ 1st VIIIs – Report by Jonny Singfield:
‘With NSR moving back to six boat finals in the first race, this year the time trials took on even more of a ‘one shot at it’ feel than normal. The crew boated knowing they had to produce their best performance. The boys made it, finishing fifth out of twenty with four seconds covering the top five crews.
Always able to start well, the VIIIs went out with the aim of staying with the race in the third quarter and to try and finish as strongly as they can start. On the more exposed side of the course the boys did a really good job, beating Bedford into sixth and then with a strong pick up in the last 500m. They moved past Hampton and back on to St Paul’s and Radley, taking fourth place overlapping St Paul’s by the finish with Radley just clear for the silver and Shiplake taking the gold.’
Boys’ 3rd VIIIs – Report by Ross Simmonds:
‘The West Cup for 3rd VIIIs was presented to the National Schools’ Regatta in 1949 by Dr Frankland West – a teacher at St Edward’s – to serve as a trophy for the event which began on our very own Godstowe stretch. Not won by an SES crew since 1996, the 3rd VIIIs were clear of the task ahead of them, to ‘bring it home’, and rose to the challenge.
They won their time trial by several seconds and went into the final shortly after, confident of their speed. They had every reason to be. Level at the 500m with Hampton, they started to pull away. 1000m later they were half a length in front and won in the end by seven seconds. A fitting triumph for the two Upper Sixth members of the crew and a taste of even greater things to come for the younger members.’
J16s’ IVs – Report by Ross Simmonds:
‘With two J16s already rowing the 3rd VIIIs, competing against school and club top crews in the J16s’ IVs was always going to be tough. The team, coxed brilliantly by Ilyas Beere in the Shell, did well to qualify for what would have been the D final. All we hope will be back for more in the Senior VIIIs in the coming years.’
J15 Boys’ VIIIs – Report by Mike Glover:
‘The J15s took part in only their second race of the season. They placed thirteenth in the time trial narrowly missing out on a spot in the B Final by 0.4 seconds. In the C Final they enjoyed a tight race all the way down the track next to Wallingford RC. They led the race for 1000m but Wallingford managed to move away in the second half and they finished half a length down on them placing fourteenth overall.’
J15 Girls’ IVs – Report by Vicki Patel:
‘The J15 girls had a great start in their time trial, placing tenth overall and heading to the B final. They were shy of Bedford Girls’ School by less than 0.1 seconds. In the B final, the girls rowed a mature and well-paced race, moving through the field to place third in their final, gaining 8 seconds on Bedford compared to the time trial. It was an excellent performance by a crew that had come together only four weeks prior, against crews that had been rowing together all year, and shows great potential for the future.’
Shell Boys’ VIIIs – Report by Arthur Smith:
‘The Shell Boys’ VIIIs had a tough race in the time trial, which didn’t go their way. However, they kept level heads after some technical issues before their final and had a much better side by side race. They gained valuable racing experience being alongside other crews, many with more experience, and they’re looking forward to their next race.’
Shell Girls’ IVs – Report by Sarah Peterswald:
‘The Shell Girls’ IVs persevered against strong competition at the National Schools’ Regatta. They raced their first time trial against 44 other crews across the country. The girls had a speedy race and achieved a great time for their first 1km race, pulling in their work from training to achieve togetherness and power.
Unfortunately, the girls placed 32nd and did not make the cut-off for the final. However, the girls should be extremely pleased with their efforts as this still places them strongly within the top 72% of competitors in their age group despite only racing for the first time the week beforehand! This puts them in good stead for future competition and shows great determination.’