An entirely new event this 2025-26 season, Junior Fours Head provides an opportunity for the best junior rowers to race on one of the most renowned courses in the UK: the Tideway. Providing an extra opportunity to practice navigating the Mortlake to Putney stretch will be genuinely welcomed by the steerspeople of these crews heading into the tail end of the head race season. Being a headline category, the championship girls’ quads will be high-quality racing, with the elite in British schoolgirl rowing taking the 6.8 km course by storm.
Wycliffe College Boat Club
What is there not to say about these individuals who wear the purple and white? The current holders of both The Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup and the overall Henley Royal Regatta course record in the junior women’s quads, Wycliffe, truly are building on their legacy. After an incredibly successful summer, with Lawrence-Preston earning a bronze medal at the U19 World Rowing Championships this year, Al-Karmi and O’Reilly winning gold in their respective crews at Coupe de la Jeunesse and many others representing their home countries outside of Great Britain, the depth of this squad has truly been displayed. Especially now heading into their second year, with all but one member of the top boat returning, the sky is the limit for these girls as they continue to try to stretch the margin between them and their competition. I am sure that with this level of talent within their squad, the competition between the two crews entered will help propel them to the top of the results page.
Marlow Rowing Club
Another of the best junior programmes in the country, over the years, Marlow Rowing Club has produced some spectacular crews, such as the two consecutive girls’ quads that reached the Sunday of Henley Royal Regatta. A consistent feature on the medal podiums of Schools’ Head of the River, the National Schools’ Regatta and Henley Women’s Regatta, this boat narrowly missed out on that coveted first place on many occasions last season. Yet this surely did not discourage them, as the squad succeeded in winning gold, silver, and bronze medals at the U19 World Rowing Championships and Coupe de la Jeunesse for GB; the members of this crew have returned with determination to turn the tables. Their recent trip across the pond is evidence of this, coming home with the women’s youth Coxed Quads win at the Head of Charles. On the high of victory, the lead position is theirs for the taking.
Maidenhead Rowing Club
The rising stars of last season, Maidenhead Rowing Club, are not ones to mess with in the sculling world. Bronze medallists at this past February’s Schools’ Head of the River, the endurance of this crew is second to none. Despite narrowly missing out on the medal table at the National Schools’ Regatta, this crew quickly moved onwards and upwards, winning the entire Sunday of the Metropolitan Regatta confidently. However, it is not just the top boat that the other crews should be wary of; after becoming one of three different clubs to qualify another crew into The Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup, this entire squad has potential. The ‘B’ boat made their way to a tight race on Thursday, and the ‘A’ reached the semi-finals, where they put up a brilliant fight. Having the longer course to their advantage and almost achieving the glory last season, I am sure big things will continue to come out of this club.
Tideway Scullers School
The home favourites for this event, this crew knows the treacherous waters of the Tideway like the back of their hand. Even so, the navigation advantage is not the only thing which sets these athletes up for a strong performance; this boat is full of racing prowess. Only a few weeks ago, two members, Kerebiriou and Cohalan, dominated the women’s youth doubles category at the Head of the Charles, alongside their youth coxed quad, who just narrowly missed out on a bronze medal. Yet this crew is no stranger to winning, battling the coastal conditions of the National Schools’ Regatta to victory last season. Whilst also coming in with the current Schools’ Head of the River title for championship girls’ quads, their previous run down this course was nothing but perfection, something this new combination will be hoping to replicate once again on Friday. We are all sure to witness a masterclass, with these girls coming well-equipped for whatever is thrown at them.
Sir William Perkins’s School Boat Club
Another consistently brilliant crew, Sir William Perkins, should be heading into this event confident. After their convincing win at the 2025 British Rowing Club Championships in the women’s Junior 18 quads, the ability to move a boat effortlessly is one this crew would not have lost. Just this summer, Emily Nicholas added to her collection of U19 World Rowing Championships silver medals in the women’s double, whilst fellow teammates represented England in the pair at the Home International Regatta. The level of racing experience shared among this crew is impressive, and the tenacity of this crew is evident in the way they approached last year’s season. Not only did they qualify for the semifinal of the junior women’s quad at Henley Women’s Regatta, but they also ended the season with a Friday at Henley Royal Regatta, having one of the most successful seasons for Sir William Perkins in the club’s history. With many of the top crew continuing, and with an impressive squad outside of this top boat, this crew will aim to continue their record-setting streak this year, starting with Junior Fours Head.
Honourable Mentions
After a slow start to last year’s season, the girls from Hartpury College Boat Club truly began to pick up momentum nearing the tail end. With members returning as international medallists and possessing top-tier racing experience, I am confident that these girls will pick up where they left off. I do not doubt that I will be seeing them climbing to the top throughout the season. Similarly, Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School Boat Club is not one to be overlooked. After consistently improving all of last year, moving from a C-final finish at the National Schools’ Regatta to a Tuesday at Henley Royal Regatta, this crew has it all to gain.
Prediction
With the unpredictable nature of the Tideway playing a pivotal role in the performance of all crews this Friday, it is difficult to predict how the results will fall truly. That being said, the impressive previous performances of Wycliffe College make me believe they will take the first-ever Junior Fours Head ‘gold’ in this event. With Tideway Scullers and Marlow fighting it out for the remaining medals, the current streak Marlow is on may help propel them into that second-place spot. As it is still early days, I am excited to see the beginnings of many new crew combinations and witness the start of these boats’ pre-winter training.
