Stu Heap, London Rowing Club
Since taking over the programme at London Rowing Club, no coach has arguably had a more profound impact on a club’s trajectory than Stu Heap. When he landed in the hot seat back in 2020, the Putney institution were floundering in the considerable wake of their neighbours at Thames. Since then, they’ve won three Henley Royal Regatta titles (including two in 2025), finished inside the top ten at the Head of the River multiple times and recorded numerous impressive domestic displays. This year was a vintage campaign for London, and Stu led the programme with aplomb.
Hugh Mackworth-Praed, Shiplake College
Whilst Dave Currie may lead the Shiplake programme overall, there is no disputing whose impact was most telling on this year’s victorious boy’s eight. Hugh Mackworth-Praed, who joined Shiplake in September 2008 as a maths teacher and has coached the men’s first eight since then, was the driving force behind the crew that won both the National Schools’ Regatta premier open title and then The Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta. In the face of ever-intensifying competition, winning the most coveted prize in schoolboy rowing is no mean feat. It is time for Hugh to receive his well-deserved flowers.
Mark Wilkinson, Windsor Boys School
Hard to look beyond the talents of Mark Wilkinson, whose impact on the Windsor Boys programme has been immense. The club have created the ultimate academy of schoolboy sculling talent, generating quality crews at almost every age group, who evolve through the system to become heavyweight contenders for the top prizes at every major domestic regatta. In 2025, the Windsor Boys’ top quad were untouchable, winning the quadruple of sculling titles at a canter.
Rhona MacCallum, Tideway Scullers School
The Tideway Scullers School are the most obvious example of a club punching above their weight. Surrounded on all sides by powerful school programmes whose magnetic pull of talent usually guts clubs that show any glimmer of consolidated quality, the Tideway Scullers School – under the careful guidance of Rhona MacCallum – brought together four of the most gifted schoolgirl scullers in this generation to win the Women’s Head of the River, Schools’ Head of the River and National Schools’ Regatta prizes. Throw into the mix that Rhona gave birth to her first child in April, and you can understand why 2025 was a unique, challenging, but remarkably rewarding year.
Katie Greves, Wallingford Rowing Club
Another fantastic example of a club thriving despite the growing allure of scholarships, Wallingford have exploded in stature on the junior circuit over the past three years. Since Katie Greves took the reins a few years ago, the club has become a real powerhouse of performance, climbing the national rankings and providing athletes for the GBRT U19, U16 and European teams. Wallingford operates on a shoestring budget, and Katie focuses on ensuring the children who pass through her programme leave the club as better people, not just athletes. Whatever she is doing, it’s clearly working.
