This competition is an opportunity for many ambitious schoolboy crews to have a final test before they enter the Christmas break and then start to work towards Schools’ Head of the River next term. Such a wiggly course requires absolute precision from the coxes, and, with the cold, wintry conditions, the crew will need as much motivation as possible to get them through their races. The field holds some highly successful athletes off the back of GB Trials and crews with loads of experience competing at the top of events such as Henley Royal Regatta.
St Paul’s School Boat Club
After such a tumultuous 2024/25 season, St Paul’s set GB Trials alight with impressive displays, particularly from Jonathan Miles, who achieved third overall in the single time trial. Out of the top 20, Paul’s had seven athletes, highlighting the changes Bobby Thatcher has been able to make since an untimely exit at Henley Royal Regatta earlier this year. Speaking of which, despite not reaching as far into the competition as they would hope, reaching the Saturday of HRR is far further than a lot of the other crews reached, and with a third at the National Schools’ Regatta, the club still holds a lot of momentum and experience, which often pays dividends in the long, gruelling head season.
Radley College Boat Club
A lot of this momentum is similarly held by Radley too. Similarly, they achieved five athletes in the top 20 at the trials in Caversham, with Csomor Hanzcar attaining the runners-up position. Looking over the whole of last season, not much can separate St Paul’s and Radley; however, the boys in the red were able to pip them in the latter half of the year with a standout performance at both HRR and NSR, where they took the silver medal. This club has had some highly variable seasons, but maybe this year they can follow on from the last and strive for even stronger results.
Norwich School Boat Club
Norwich School started their season with a bang, winning the J18 Coxless Fours at the inaugural Junior Fours Head by over 17 seconds. They were able to overcome established schools such as Eton, St Paul’s and Abingdon, presenting a new purpose within the boat club and ambition for the year ahead. Current stroke, Archie Wilkins, led his team to an impressive F-Final at the Marlow Regatta back in June, beating many senior and experienced crews. The Norwich crew will be hoping to make it consecutive wins, but do they have the depth to have success in the eight as well as the four?
Pangbourne College Boat Club
The local favourites of Pangbourne will hope to defend their waters and fix their weaknesses of the previous season. Last year, they were fortunate to have the experience of Harry Brightmore coaching their first eight, which would have allowed them to develop under reliable supervision. However, they were unable to qualify for HRR 2025 and will be eager to put themselves back into contention at Wallingford in a few days’ time.
Reading Blue Coat School Boat Club
Another local team is Reading Blue Coat, who are improving year on year. At Marlow Regatta, they reached the D-Final, beating clubs with incredible pedigree such as Molesey and Radley. Pre-qualifying for HRR put them in a good place, but the draw didn’t go in their favour, making it only to Wednesday, losing to Marin Rowing Association, U.S.A. The club had one athlete attend GB trials after two withdrawals, with Alex Brown coming in 50th place, indicating that the squad may lack sufficient depth to defeat the other standout crews.
Predictions
This category is likely to be a rematch of the final of the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup 2022, with the crews from Radley and St Paul’s holding 12 out of the top 20 rowers from U19 GB trials. Despite Radley being victorious against Paul’s last year, I believe that Bobby’s boys will come out on top.
