By Mr McEwen (Assistant Head Rowing Coach)

On Monday 23rd March, our J14 squad attended the National Junior Sculling Head (Scullery). This event was only their second head race and their first one not on our home river. With nearly 600 junior crews competing at Dorney Lake, it was a fantastic opportunity for our rowers to test themselves against strong national opposition.

The Scullery is held on Dorney Lake, the venue of the London 2012 Olympic regatta. Racing is conducted over two 1800m runs, one up the lake and the other back down it after spinning around, and your final time is the sum of these two pieces excluding the spin. We entered two boats.

Our WJ14 4x+ had two very consistent runs resulting in an overall placing of 31st out of 54 crews nationally, and our WJ14 8x+ raced well coming 34th overall. The crews coped admirably with the unfamiliar course, busy environment, and windy conditions, showing impressive composure and teamwork.

Both crews represented the school incredibly well, and learned lots from the experience which they can now take into their final head race of the season at The Bedford Spring Fours and Small Boats Head on Sunday 12th April.