With the standard of Junior rowing increasing every year, with a broader range of competitive crews and faster times being set now than ever before, the stage is set for a very exciting 2026 season.
The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club – Junior Quad
With two successive Fawley Challenge Cup wins, equalling the current standing record for back-to-back victories, this year, I am sure the Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club will be hoping to set themselves apart by achieving the much-revered three in a row. Windsor Boys continuously produce crews of outstanding class; however, they missed the inaugural Junior Four’s Head, apparently due to an issue with their entry. At Head of the Charles earlier this year, they won by a clear margin of 17 seconds; other than that, they have seemed to take the approach of an inwards-focused head season so far, with few other results to go off for Autumn 2025. One event that the whole of the Windsor squad attended was the Boston Junior Sculling Head, a GB Early ID-based event at which Hill, Thornton, and Chute came second, third, and sixth. An impressive show against the top scullers in the country, which no doubt will transfer into the quad when the time comes. There are two returners from last year’s Henley Royal Regatta-winning crew: Isaac Thornton and Bailey Taylor, who both represented Team GB at Coupe De Jeunesse in the quad and double, respectively. The strong 2025 second quad, featuring two J16s who both earned themselves representation at the GB v France match, received a buy-in at last year’s Henley Royal Regatta, only to be beaten by the runners-up (Hinksey Sculling School). This depth of squad can only leave us to imagine that the quad will be just as strong, if not stronger, than last season’s winners.
St Paul’s School Boat Club – Junior Eight
Would this even be a JRN preview without a mention of St Paul’s? Jokes aside, St Paul’s have rightly earned their place at the forefront of the junior men’s sweep scene, with consistent results over all age categories for very many years. Just this season, the Paul’s boys were out in force at the Sculler’s Head with notable results: Jonathan Miles claiming first in the junior men’s single in front of all U23 scullers and close on the heels of the championship scullers, whilst Edward Ludgate won the Junior 17 single by just under six seconds. At the Head of the Charles, they claimed an impressive first place, although only by 0.3 seconds, with St Joseph’s Prep close behind; their nearest English competition, KCS, was nearly 20 seconds back. They seemed to prioritise Four’s Head over the Junior counterpart, coming second in the open senior academic quad and second in the open senior academic coxed four. Their only notable Junior Four’s Head result was a fourth in the coxless four, which is slightly off the mark from their usual performance. Of last year’s Schools’ Head of the River and Head of the Charles winners who also earned a bronze medal at the National Schools’ Regatta and a semi-final place at Henley Royal Regatta, four boys are returning, likely ready to overhaul last year’s results. Over the summer, four members of the eight who fielded for Head of the Charles attended the GB vs France match, with two others (Tans and Miles) representing GB at the Coupe de Jeunesse. The J16S likely to be in this crew will also have featured at the National Schools’ Regatta in the Junior 16 gold medal-winning eight. With quite a depth of talent and experience already in this boat, I predict a very successful season for St Paul’s.
Durham Amateur Rowing Club – Quinn Mosley
It would be an understatement to say that Mosley dominated the Junior 16 single sculling field for the 2025 season; he won medals at nearly every national event, consistently demonstrating strong performances. To start off regatta season, the Durham Amateur Rowing Club sculler won the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta in the Junior 16 single, improving on a second place achieved in 2024. He followed this up with a silver medal at the National Schools’ Regatta in the championship single (quite the achievement, considering he was two years younger than most competitors). To finish the season, Mosley earned a GB vest for the GB vs France match, winning a first international gold and two national golds in the Junior 16 and Junior 18 single at the British Rowing Club Championships. This potential has carried him well into this season, with a fourth-place finish at the Scullers Head in the Junior 18 single, where he defeated all competitors in his own Junior 17 age group. A very exciting season lies ahead for this sculler.
Norwich School Boat Club – Junior Eight
Norwich have flown under the radar for several seasons now, generally pitching up alongside traditional ‘first eight’ schools and competing well (third in the C-final at the National Schools’ Regatta and only beaten by two other comparable outfits). There is cause for significant optimism in 2026. Nicholas Conway – who raced and won in the men’s eight at the 2025 U19 World Rowing Championships – has since won the first edition of the U19 GBRT Trials in November, finishing six seconds clear of a packed field. Their junior coxless four then went on to win its category at the inaugural Junior Fours Head. Alongside a smattering of wins at smaller events, including the Bedford Small Boats Head and Hampton Small Boats Head, this boat club are on the rise.
Shiplake College
Shiplake are renowned for their success in the Junior 18 category but normally fall short in lower age groups. However, it seems this season may be different for the J16s, so far having won high-profile races in both sweep and sculling. At the Fours Head, the Junior 16 quad won by over 20 seconds against Abingdon, one of the most significant margins of the day. At Wallingford Head, their eight won the band 2 event by nearly 40 seconds against Eton, and even beat all of the crews in the band one event (including St Paul’s) by 19 seconds. This shows that the Shiplake J16 squad has the potential to be successful in whichever event they choose to compete in this season, which is quite topical considering the ongoing debate about imports vs. homegrown talent. It turns out that homegrown talent does, in fact, exist at Shiplake, thanks to what I’m sure is a lot of hard work from both athletes and coaches.
