By Mr McEwen (Assistant Head Rowing Coach)

BGS made history at Henley Royal Regatta 2026 as our 1st VIII qualified for the main draw for the first time ever. 

Henley Royal Regatta (HRR) held annually in Henley-on-Thames is the biggest rowing event in the world, and one of the oldest continuously run sporting events in the country. It is managed by a committee of former rowers called Stewards. HRR follows its own set of rules and traditions as it predates any national governing body, and even the modern Olympics! From its first running over an afternoon in 1839 the event has now grown to six days and sees crews from schools all the way up to national teams competing over the same course. 

The 2026 edition of the event had a record 862 entries from 21 nations which had to be whittled down to make the main draw. Some crews are automatically given their places based on their results from the season. For everyone else there is one last chance to make it in, and this takes the form of a qualifying time trial held over the full course the Friday before the regatta proper starts. Due to the red weather warning for heat the Stewards made the decision to move some of the qualifying races to Saturday morning to avoid the worst of the heat. This last minute change and early start didn’t phase our crews who had moved their training sessions to before school all week in an attempt to stay cool. 

BGS had two crews vying for their places in the regatta; our 4x- were entered in The Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup and were competing against 38 other crews for the final 8 spots in the draw, for all of the athletes in this boat it was their first run all the way down the course past the grandstands in the Stewards’ Enclosure. They raced admirably, holding off strong challenges from crews starting behind them but it was not quite enough to make it through.

The 1st VIII were entered into The Prince Philip Challenge Trophy and were also competing for the final 8 spots in the draw against 21 other crews. The crew absolutely buried themselves in the race, leaving no regrets out on the water. All that was left was to agonisingly wait for the list of successfully qualified crews to be read out over the tannoy. And fortunately, for the first time ever “Bedford Girls’ School” was called out over the boat tents, much to the delight of the crew and supporters present. Later that same afternoon the draw took place, where crew numbers were drawn out of a trophy to fill the knockout bracket of the main regatta. BGS drew St Paul’s Girls’ School (SPG) and the race time was set as 10.40am on Tuesday 30th June.

After heading down to Henley to train on the course on Monday and an early start on Tuesday to get out for a prepaddle, all of a sudden it was time to boat for the race. Flanked by family, friends, and alumni the crew experienced a clap out as they exited the boat tents, one of the newer traditions at HRR but certainly a powerful motivator as if much more motivation was needed. Finally, and yet so soon the race start arrived, BGS fought all the way down the track and received compliments from the umpires and other coaches in the following launch for their tenacity and technique, but in the end SPG were the stronger crew and pulled away throughout the race. Although in sport a loss is always tough, we have not only made history for our own school  but become a part of SPG history as they achieved their first ever race win at HRR, a goal for us to still strive towards in the future. 

The crew were then able to enjoy the rest of the day on the other side of the regatta as supporters, cheering on local crews from Bedford School and Star Club in their races. All the while sporting their newly designed rowing blazers. We are extremely thankful for the support from friends and family at the event, as well as those watching the livestream back at school who we hope will be inspired to work as hard towards their goals as this crew has. 

BGS 1st VIII HRR 2026

Bow - M.E. Hillson

2 - E.C.J. Wootton

3 - R.L. Palmer

4 - L.M. Fraser

5 - L.O. Sonsino

6 - I.J. Moretto

7 - E.A. Blake

Str - K. Farquhar

Cox - M.G. Folbigg

View photos from the qualifiers and final here.