St Paul’s and Hinksey take top titles at 2024 National Schools’ Regatta

In the last two ‘A’ finals of a packed Sunday of racing, St Paul’s School and then Hinksey Sculling School took the blue-riband Championship Eights titles on a shimmering Dorney Lake

Despite the threat of storms and torrential rain, the entire program was able to get away without a hitch, and grey clouds skidding across a temperamental sky on the Sunday did little to dampen the enthusiasm on the ground – or the water.

52 events catered for thousands of young rowers from across the country and serial winners included St Paul’s, who took home five golds, Windsor Boys’, who collected four golds, plus Henley RC and Hartpury College and University, who earned three golds apiece.

Racing shifted on the Sunday to an echelon format, where the fastest crews from previous rounds were seeded into lanes eight and seven, meaning that a lot of the action came from the island side of the lake.

In the Open Championship Eight, St Paul’s School made good on their obvious potential to secure gold in a thrilling contest that included multiple challengers to their crown. In the end, Radley College won silver with Shiplake College sprinting down home favourites Eton College to take bronze.

“The thing that struck me was the standard of the field,” commented St Paul’s Director of Rowing Bobby Thatcher. “The level has jumped up several notches this year. It’s probably the highest standard across the board that I’ve seen. So I’m really happy that we came away with the win. We take nothing for granted; there are so many good crews out there.”

In the Girls’ equivalent, Hinksey took a stunning gold in an impressive display. For a community program to upset the established powers of Headington, Henley, St Edward’s and Shiplake is a remarkable feat and now all eyes turn to the Prince Philip Challenge Trophy at Henley Royal Regatta and the prospect of a first UK club victory in a junior eights event.

The Open Quads were once again won by Windsor Boys’ School, who took their third title in as many years, cementing their status as the crew to beat approaching Henley Royal Regatta. Behind them, Marlow RC secured a second successive silver whilst Hinksey Sculling School found themselves on another podium to win bronze.

Mark Wilkinson, Director of Rowing at Windsor Boys’, said: “This was an outstanding weekend of racing for the school with four golds plus a silver and bronze. The first boat in championship quads performed really well – they have been going quickly in training so there was pressure on them to deliver. They dealt with it well and were able to hold off an awesome Marlow crew who were very determined and have some excellent athletes.”

On the Girls’ side, Wycliffe put on a clinic in schoolgirl sculling to win their final by nine seconds. Their 2024 season has been nothing short of sensational, with dominant displays at both the Schools’ Head of the River and Oarsport Junior Sculling Head capped off with this richly deserved gold at Dorney Lake. “The girls were determined to retain the title from last year,” said Greg Flower, Director of Rowing at Wycliffe. “They executed the race plan in each round perfectly and we are all very proud of their professionalism and dedication.”

Given the ‘no doubling-up’ rule in place at the National Schools’ Regatta, the winners of the Fours events were neatly spread across three different clubs. Royal Shrewsbury School took two of the titles, claiming Open Championship Coxed Fours and Girls’ Championship Coxless Fours. Kingston Grammar School won the Open Coxless trophy whilst Aberdeen Schools Rowing Association dominated the Girls’ Coxed Fours, winning by nearly 15 seconds.

Elsewhere, the Snoxall brothers from Reading RC put the disappointment of an Open Championship Double Sculls silver from 2023 behind them to claim gold in a thrilling race that saw them eventually dispatch the close attentions of Windsor Boys’ to silver. Hartpury College and University were winners in the Girls’ Championship Double Sculls, and also claimed gold in the Open Championship Single Sculls courtesy of Elliott Donovan-Davis, and in the Girls’ Junior 16 Quad.

Glasgow Academy’s Briony Wood, the young sculler who burst onto the scene at 15 in 2023 to win a brilliant gold in the Girls’ Championship Single Sculls, retained her title in mature fashion, holding off early pressure from Hartpury’s Catherine Gardner to scull away in the second half of the race.

Full results

Girls’ Championship, 2nd boat, and J16 medallists

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Girls’ Ch 8+	Hinksey (06:43.17)	St Edwards (06:45.88)	Headington (06:45.94)
Girls’ Ch 4x-	Wycliffe (06:50.84)	Marlow RC (06:59.45)	Molesey BC (07:07.65)
Girls’ 2nd 4x-	Wycliffe (07:13.19)	Lea RC (07:33.83)	Great Marlow School (07:54.23)
Girls’ Ch 4+	Aberdeen Schools RA (07:29.70)	Wallingford RC (07:44.34)	Sir William Perkins (07:50.40)
Girls’ Ch 4-	Shrewsbury (07:12.26)	Pagnbourne (07:17.10)	St George’s College (07:18.12)
Girls’ Ch 2x	Hartpury College (07:21.07)	Tideway Scullers (07:34.21)	Sir William Perkins’s (07:27.44)
Girls’ Ch 2-	Enniskillen Royal BC (07:36.08)	Glasgow Academy (07:50.65)	Sir William Perkins’s (07:53.70)
Girls’ Ch 1x	Glasgow Academy (07:59.26)	Hartpury College (08:06.05)	Tideway Scullers (08:12.75)
Girls’ J16 1st 8+	Henley RC (07:12.16)	Walllingford RC (07:14.39)	Headington (07:22.12)
Girls’ J16 2nd 8+	Headington (07:48.62)	St Paul’s Girls (08:08.15)	Surbiton (08:20.63)
Girls’ J16 4x-	Hartpury College (07:34.36)	Hexham RC (07:36.89)	Killorglin RC (07:40.20)
Girls’ J16 4+	Godolphin & Latymer (07:46.89)	Enniskillen Royal BC (07:58.22)	Kingston Grammar (08:02.80)
Girls’ J16 2x	AB Severn (07:40.79)	Sir William Perkins’s (07:41.13)	City of Bristol (07:59.69)

Open Championship, 2nd boat and J16 medallists

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Open Ch 8+	St Paul’s (05:57.74)	Radley (05:59.09)	Shiplake (05:59.98)
Open 2nd 8+	St Paul’s (NTT)	Shiplake (NTT)	Eton (NTT)
Open Ch 4x-	Windsor Boys’ (06:06.86)	Marlow RC (06:09.82)	Hinksey (06:14.75)
Open 2nd 4x-	Tideway Scullers (06:33.28)	Leander (06:34.15)	Great Marlow School (06:39.90)
Open Ch 4-	Kingston Grammar (06:37.32)	Nottingham and Union RC (06:39.57)	Walton RC (06:42.59)
Open Ch 4+	Shrewsbury (06:53.03)	Pangbourne (06:58.08)	Canford (07:01.09)
Open Ch 2x	Reading RC (06:47.38)	Windsor Boys’ (06:48.18)	Winchester (06:52.39)
Open Ch 2-	Nottinghamshire County RA (07:11.62)	Aberdeen Schools RA (07:15.55)	Westminster (07:19.36)
Open Ch 1x	Hartpury College (07:08.33)	St Michael’s RC, Limerick (07:09.69)	Wycliffe (07:12.99)
Open J16 1st 8+	Radley (NTT)	St Paul’s (NTT)	King’s College Sch (NTT)
Open J16 2nd 8+	Radley (06:49.93)	Eton (06:55.74)	King’s College School (06:57.94)
Open J16 4x-	Windsor Boys’ (06:38.52)	Hinksey (06:39.63)	Tiffin (06:47.80)
Open J16 4+	Enniskillen Royal BC (07:06.38)	St George’s College (07:12.03)	Windsor Boys’ (07:17.23)
Open J16 2x	Shanklin Sandown RC (06:48.86)	Exeter RC (06:56.63)	Bewl Bridge RC (06:56.97)