Schools' Head of the River 2023

Monkton Senior School Rowers were proud to take part in the 2023 Schools' Head, the largest school age Head Race in the UK, spanning over 4.5miles along the famous stretch of the river Thames.

The race covers the same course as the Oxford and Cambridge boat race, only heading in the opposite direction. It is an infamously grueling course, however our rowers committed to training before and after school nearly every day to prepare themselves for approximately 20 minutes of rowing as hard as they can. The 6:30am ergo sessions are continually very well attended and the work the students have been putting in behind the scenes is helping to produce even better race performances.

The girls held the stand out performance, with a result that placed them as the 4th best school 1st 8 crew in the country. They have shown good speed in the first few races and it is brilliant to see them deliver a performance on a big stage to underline that they are a real force in girls rowing this year!

The Year 10's took on the challenge in only their 3rd ever race and did well to come back in one piece as they were on the river the longest out of all the crews. They may have been freezing cold and soaking wet, but the whole crew came together showing true sportsmanship when carrying the boat back to the trailer.

The boys 1st and 2nd 8 are both improving greatly, with each race of the season seeing them pull even closer to the results of competitor schools. The boys 2nd 8 had a last minute sub, with Finn M from Year 10 stepping in to save the day. Without him the crew could not have raced and he showed great courage to race above his age in a very challenging race.

Congratulations to both of our crews for their dedication and commitment in both training and races so far. Our upcoming annual Easter Rowing Camp in France, along with some expert guest coaching, will be a great opportunity to find even more speed to challenge for regatta wins.