Henley Royal Regatta 2025: A glorious end to the King’s School rowing season

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A historic double qualification for Henley Royal Regatta brought the King’s School Rowing Club’s year to an exciting – and unprecedented – close this year.

For the first time ever, both the boys’ and girls’ 1st VIIIs qualified for Henley Royal Regatta 2025 through the qualification regatta; a milestone in the school’s rowing history.

The boys’ VIII secured their spot in the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Club, and the girls’ VIII took their well-deserved place in the Prince Philip Challenge Cup, marking the culmination of a successful season characterised by dedicated athlete performance and well-crafted coaching.

In the first round, the boys took on Claires Court School, executing a great race to win by a comfortable margin of 3.5 lengths.

Later that day, the girls faced tough opposition in the American Saugatuck Rowing Club. Against a team ranked fourth in the USA, the girls put up a fantastic fight and raced brilliantly but the Americans proved stronger as they took the win.

Round two of the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup saw the boys’ 1st VIII take on Bedford School. Renowned as a rowing school and ranked sixth in the country, the boys knew that it would be a tough race. They fought valiantly against the Bedford crew but were beaten by a length.

Interim Director of Rowing, James Gray, was delighted with how both crews performed.

He said: “For any rower, competing at Henley Royal Regatta is what dreams are made of and I am so very proud of both crews.

“They have worked incredibly hard to get to this point and it has been a pleasure to share this experience with them. For some of the students, this was their final regatta with King’s and I cannot think of any better way for them to end their time at the club.

“I will also be moving on to a new school in the Autumn but I will be keeping a close eye on King’s and will hope to see many of this year’s first VIIIs back at Henley in 2026.”

Congratulations, and thank you, to the rowers and coaches who were part of this historic KSCRC season. The members of both history-making crews are listed below.

Special thanks to Paul Turner and Matt Jump who worked directly with the athletes in this year’s boys’ and girls’ 1st VIIIs, and to the wider coaching team who work tirelessly to ensure that as many students as possible have the opportunity to row at the King’s School Chester Rowing Club.

We look forward to the new season when we welcome our new Director of Rowing, Nick Wells, who joins us from Toorak College, Australia.