The 2025 NSW All Schools Championships roll out a new-look format and double as the season opener for NSW’s 2025–26 campaign. Normally an early regatta packed with single-scull entries as schools chase data and depth, this edition flips the script: one entry per school, no exceptions. The result? A trimmed-down but far more concentrated field of 23 Schoolgirl entries, with every program putting its best forward. Expect tight margins, clean match-ups, and some genuinely high-quality racing to launch the new season.
The Armidale School: Isabella Henderson
The Armidale School is possibly one of the most dedicated programs in NSW Rowing, travelling over six hours every weekend to compete in Penrith. Isabella Henderson has been the shining light of this squad over the last season. 2025/6 will be her second season contesting this event, after placing second at the Schoolgirl Head of the River in March. At nationals, she reached the A-final in the same event, placing fourth by an agonising 0.83 of a second. This depth of experience in racing will hold her steady against new crews this season. Henderson, in competition with Ollivier, appears to have been working hard over the winter and will undoubtedly be seeking a podium finish, or even the top spot in this event.
Canberra Girls Grammar: Charlotte Bowen
Charlotte Bowen had a successful run in the big boats last year, achieving an undefeated season in the schoolgirl quad, which led to gold at Nationals in March and a Henley Royal Regatta tour in July. With a relatively minimal CV compared to some of her contemporaries, Bowen’s small boats record boats quality over quantity in her appearances with Canberra Girls Grammar. After winning in this same quad, NSW State Championships and the NSW Schoolgirls Head of the River, she is tracking to back up these crew performances in the scull.
Newcastle Grammar School: Roxanna Brown
Roxanna Brown is an athlete rowing for both Newcastle Rowing Club and Newcastle Grammar School and is seeking to build off a successful Schoolgirls double scull last season at the NSW Head of the River Schoolgirl regatta, finishing only four seconds off first. On top of winning the women’s U17/U19/Open age group at the Hunter Valley Grammar School Regatta in NSW, Brown is looking to build off this racing in the schoolgirl single.
Our Lady Of Mercy Catholic College: Charlotte Ollivier
Charlotte Ollivier is another athlete who has gained valuable experience on the lake through her junior racing. Rowing a double with Henderson at Nationals and reaching the A-final will provide a good incentive, as these girls now race against each other to the podium. Rowing for UTS Haberfield as a club rower, Ollivier just missed out on the A-final by four seconds at NSW State championships in the U19 single. Additionally, she finished fourth at Schoolgirl Head of the River and fifth in the B-final at the 2025 Nationals, her first year in the Open School Girls category. By incorporating these experiences, Ollivier will become a formidable force in this contention.
Prediction
I predict that Henderson and Olliver will fight for first and second, with Henderson eventually on top, and Olliver close behind. I suggest that Bowen will snag a third and that Brown will be chasing her down, eventually earning fourth. In a large pool of 23 schoolgirl single sculls, this field is broad with high stakes.
