National Schools’ Regatta 2025 – Open Junior 16 Coxed Fours Preview

The National Schools’ Regatta returns for another year, moving back to Holme Pierrepont after nine years at Dorney. Junior rowers from all over Britain will flock to Nottingham for the three-day regatta, hoping to pick up some silverware. 27 Junior 16 fours will make up this event,, and after tight racing all season, crews will be looking to make their mark after months of training.

Great Marlow School Boat Club

Returning champions, Great Marlow School, have maintained a dominant style through the winter and the beginning of the summer season. At the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta, they left Leeds trailing by six seconds in the final, cruising to gold with apparent ease in a tightly contested field. Their winning streak continued at Wallingford Regatta, though they were pushed to the line by Hampton School, finishing ahead by just 0.5 seconds, a much closer finish than many might have expected.

Leeds Rowing Club

After coming heartbreakingly close to gold last year, Leeds are back and ready to fight for their moment once again. Having led the race from the get-go, a medical issue in the final 250 metres saw them fall just outside the medals, a truly unrepresentative result that didn’t reflect their actual speed or ability. Now back with a new bow seat and fresh determination, they have already made their mark this season with a silver medal at JIRR just last month, setting them up as strong contenders for the weekend ahead.

Shiplake College Boat Club

This Shiplake crew seems to have split their top Junior 16 eight into a coxed four and a quad in the hope of securing a podium finish and picking up a medal. Shiplake is known for their high-end sixth form squads that compete at the top end of junior rowing, yet after not making much headway in the eight, it’s clear Shiplake has taken a gamble to see if they will be able to bag themselves a medal come Saturday. They took gold at Marlow Spring Regatta after a fifth-place finish at Wallingford; they are showing improvement and should be confident of a podium finish this weekend.

Hampton School Boat Club

This Hampton four seems to be the basis of their Junior 16 second eight that won silver as J15s last year. So far this season, they managed to put out an eight at the Schools’ Head of the River, where they came fourth. In the four, they took third place at Wallingford whilst at Thames Ditton Regatta last weekend, they came second in the Junior 18 fours event. Hampton have a fairly impressive squad at this level, and though these aren’t the top athletes in their squad, they will likely still be able to pull something out of the bag as they attempt to upgrade their silver from last year in the eight to a gold this year.

Predictions

This is Great Marlow’s title to lose, barring anything extraordinary. They have been leading the rest of the field by some considerable distance and have the legacy of the win from last year. Leeds bested Hampton at Wallingford but only by half a second, a gap that can be made up quickly in a matter of weeks. It seems that the rest of the podium will be battled between Leeds and Hampton, with the possibility of Shiplake or Emanuel being able to sneak in to take home a minor medal.