This year, the National Schools’ Regatta 2025 will experience a significant change from previous iterations. For the first time in a decade, the regatta will be switching out the eminent waters of Eton Dorney Lake for the Holme Pierrepont National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham. Nonetheless, the location change won’t affect the ferocity of the athletes or the racing spectacle they create, with intense battles guaranteed. Come late May, squads will be checking their boats and throwing on their race unisuits in anticipation of a wild raceday. Unfortunately, only a select few will be able to savour the glory of victory, and in the open Junior 18 quads, there are a few favourites. Let’s take a look at the competition.
Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club
Frankly, it would be unjust not to open with Windsor, possibly the most consistently successful junior programme of the current rowing era. As the current title holders of this event, and having already claimed victory at every notable race they’ve attended this season, including the Schools’ Head of the River, the Heineken Roeivierkamp, the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head and the Head of the Charles, it seems unlikely anyone will be toppling them. It’s easy to see why when two of their members, Joe Wellington and Isaac Thornton, were selected to represent Great Britain at the Munich International Junior Regatta, with Wellington also taking first place at GB U19 April Trials. The crew features two returning members from last year, Wellington and Ruben Taylor, so their continued success is not a significant shock. With the unrivalld guidance of coach Mark Wilkinson, it seems there is little the squad can’t achieve.
Windsor has also seen remarkable success in lower age categories, taking out the Junior 16 quads and Junior 15 octuples and a gold and silver in the Junior 18 and Junior 16 second quads events, respectively, at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head. Their dynasty won’t be coming to an end any time soon, so I would place them as clear favourites approaching raceday.
Leander Club
A club looking to return to glory this year is Leander, with a slightly quieter season last year hopefully acting as an interlude before their campaign in 2025. At this event last year, they walked away in fifth – not a bad result, but still over 16 seconds behind the victors. So far this year, they finished second at the Schools’ Head of the River – a great showing – but were not present at either Wallingford Regatta or the Junior Sculling Regatta. It’s unclear what this implies; perhaps they’re interested in keeping their cards close to their chests. Regardless, their strength in the head season is compelling, although they often struggle throughout mid-season in ways other crews do not, such as in 2023, where they seemed unstoppable in the season openers yet faltered at the National Schools’ Regatta to finish third. There has been some evidence of that again this year at the Caversham Private Regatta, where they fumbled their time trial to end up in the C-final, out of contention.
Yet, the crew’s talent is undeniable, with stroke seat Willem van den Eerenbeemt claiming fifth at last year’s U19 World Rowing Championships while representing the Netherlands. Backed up by returning bow seat Will Eaton and a seriously powerful middle pair, the pink hippos could have all the ingredients for success this year.
Lea Rowing Club
The boys in bright orange have not always been a feature of the top competitors in this event, finishing second in the B-final at the National Schools’ Regatta’ last year, yet Lea seem to have a genuinely impressive contingent this season. At the Junior Sculling Regatta, they came away with the win following a close battle with Hartpury College, winning with less than a boat length to spare. Key oarsman Thomas Pakulis was racing for Great Britain in Munich only one day previously after his impressive fourth place at the U19 April Trials, so it was clear that the legs were tired. This marks a serious step-up from the squad; clearly, they must be doing something right.
Beyond the Junior Sculling Regatta, they have been unsettlingly quiet so far, with no entrants in this event at Hammersmith Head, the Schools’ Head of the River, or Wallingford Regatta, although they did place fourth at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head in March. Currently, it’s uncertain whether this elusiveness will help them fly under the radar of their competitors or hinder their chances for the podium due to a lack of race experience, particularly as only one member, Madoc Gundry, is returning from last year’s top boat. Nonetheless, we’ve heard whispers of just how much faster this crew is compared to the club’s previous iterations, so I am certainly excited to see what they can produce come raceday.
Hinksey Sculling School
Hinksey have eased themselves into this season, metaphorically dipping their toes in the water instead of diving head-first into the rapids. As bronze medallists last year, they will undoubtedly be prowling for the podium again, and with a crew that has been evolving all season, let’s hope they’ve finally found the golden combo. They took bronze at JSR, yet failed to make the final at Wallingford Regatta the previous day with only one crew change. This inconsistency may be a feature of their inexperience, with only one returning member from last year – Judah Turnbull. Lewie Harris, currently the squad’s top performer, is alongside him after claiming bronze at the GB U19 April trials. Stroking the boat is Eli Kuehne, a kiwi rower who has had an illustrious junior career for Aramoho Wanganui in New Zealand, and is now trying his hand at the British circuit.
So far, Hinksey have had setbacks, such as at the Schools’ Head of the River, where they steered a ridiculously leisurely line down the course, ultimately falling back to tenth. Their main issue is rhythm, with the crew’s components just slightly out of sync. Regardless, they’ll be eager to learn from their mistakes. With a second-place finish at the last pre-Nottingham racing opportunity, Caversham Private Regatta, taking out both Lea and Leander, succumbing only to Windsor, it seems these lads are hitting their stride just in time.
Hartpury College Boat Club
The ‘pury boys’ have been going from strength to strength for a few seasons, showcasing clean consistency, though never quite cracking the top position. With a sixth-place finish at the National Schools’ Regatta preceding a Friday finish at Henley Royal Regatta in 2024, Hartpury were up there, but just out of medal contention. Undoubtedly, they’ll be looking to step up and grab what they’ve been chasing finally, and so far, it seems they’ve been closing in. They narrowly missed out on gold at the Junior Sculling Regatta, and at the Schools’ Head of the River earlier this year, they rowed past the Embankment to finish fourth. If they can get it to click at the sharp end of the season, we could see them walking away with silverware. This fact is cemented by GB U19 trials, where Daniel Page and Louis Sheasby finished eighth and 13th at the April Trials, respectively. Though neither athlete was selected to represent Great Britain at Munich this month, having not one but two high-performing athletes at trials is a considerable advantage. Furthermore, with three returning members from last year, this quad has the experience and components for success.
Molesey Boat Club
Another crew that has shied away from the spotlight so far this regatta season has been Molesey, after a notable head season. With prime results at both Hammersmith Head and the Schools’ Head of the River (second and third, respectively), their potential for the podium at the National Schools’ Regatta’ seems to be as black and white as their race kit. Last year, they rounded out the A-final in seventh, a likely bittersweet achievement. Here, they are back, and undoubtedly yearning for more. Their ambition may be fueled by their new head junior coach, Julian Egan-Shuttler, who joined the Molesey coaching squad in September after five years coaching Newcastle University. Having switched only one crew-member since last year, this crew has the racing experience together that few others can match. The question now is how well they can transition to regatta season.
They finished second in their heat at Wallingford Regatta, sadly not progressing to the final. Though not the best start, it is certainly not a reason to write them off. Like their competition, they will have been training furiously these last few weeks, so seeing how much more speed can be extracted from their fairly set combination will be interesting. I’m uncertain if their success from earlier will truly carry into the sharp end of the season, but only time will tell.
Notable Mentions
There are a few other contenders who we could see in the mix for the A-final come raceday. One such crew is, of course, Marlow Rowing Club, who are well-known for producing competitive contingents. They seem to be having a slightly quieter year, with fifth at both Hammersmith Head and the Schools’ Head of the River, but with such a plethora of talent coming through their boathouse year on year, anything could happen.
Another crew worth mentioning is The Grange School Rowing Club, who, despite not being regulars at the top of the leaderboard, punched well above their weight to start regatta season with a second and fourth at Wallingford Regatta and the Junior Sculling Regatta, respectively. Though I fear they may be slightly off the pace of the top crews, they still have the potential to cause a severe upset.
Alongside them is Great Marlow School, who came out of nowhere last season to take the win at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head 2024. They seem to have carried some of that pedigree into this season, with a third at Wallingford Regatta and a fifth at the Junior Sculling Regatta. Similar to Grange, I would probably place them at the top of the B-final, but I’m sure they will compete proudly for a place against the heavy-hitters.
Prediction
It seems at this stage of the season that gold can only go to Windsor, with their rock-solid consistency placing them squarely as the crew to beat for yet another season. Behind them, fighting for the minor medals is a trickier prediction, but I would put Leander and Hinksey in the fight, with Lea also firmly in the mix. Finally, rounding out the A-final will be Molesey and Hartpury, where I reckon it could go either way. Grange also has the potential to sneak into the A-final, but it will require perfect race execution to do so.
