If ever there was a name synonymous with high performance schoolboy rowing in the UK, I’d hazard a guess that The Windsor Boys’ School would feature highly on the list of candidates. Rarely does a season go by where the green and gold-clad scullers do not make an appearance at the business end of the junior rowing circuit, such is the incredible longevity and strength of their program. Beyond the obvious stack of results, the institution stands proud as one of the few state schools to consistently win silverware in a community dominated by the public schooling system.
The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club was founded in 1940 by members of Eton Excelsior Rowing Club, in an attempt to keep their club active during the Second World War. By the end of the 1950s the club had moved into its present boathouse on the River Thames, adjacent to the School’s playing fields.
Since the 1960s, the club’s various successes have been notable. As with many clubs, the cycle of fortune fluctuated and the early 1970s saw a downturn in fortunes but more recently, the club has flourished, earning a nationally recognised reputation for excellence, particularly in the field of crew sculling.
Fast forward to the last ten years and The Windsor Boys’ School have firmly cemented their position as one of the country’s leading centres for schoolboy sculling. Their record in the Fawley Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta is unparalleled – two wins in the past three years to crown a number of final and semi-final placings in the preceding campaigns. To add to this, the team have had numerous athletes represent the school on an international stage – Bryn Ellery and Tom Smith were selected to represent Great Britain at the Junior World Rowing Championships in Trakai, Lithuania, in 2017. They came home with a silver medal in the quad scull in a crew coached by The Windsor Boys Director of Rowing, Mark Wilkinson.
What is especially remarkable about the club is that they achieve consistent success across the age groups. They regularly feature at the summit of J14, J15 and J16 categories and this then creates the pathway for a successful senior squad. The school’s website states that ‘to get to this level requires a level of commitment and dedication by anyone who aspires to it.’
Boys start in year 9 with a simple capsize drill and swim test, before developing their sculling skills on the River Thames throughout the whole of year 9 and 10. The aim is to give as many as possible the opportunity to row. Racing comes thick and fast in the summer and the aim is to get as many boys as possible up to a racing standard. Gym sessions from 7am during the winter and early morning sessions on the river during the summer months mean that the boys‘ skills develop quickly. As boys move into year 11, the training increases and the targets get higher, with representational honours on the card.
In February the Boat Club engaged all the boys, along with parents, family, and alumni to ergo, run, walk or cycle around the whole planet – 40,075 km! They are raising money via the challenge, both for the Boat Club and for the Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice. If you can support the cause, please visit the Boat Clubs Facebook page to do so or use this link: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/wbsbcaroundtheworldfeb
I personally had experience racing against a particularly strong outfit from The Windsor Boys’ School during my J16 year (2012). No matter how hard we tried to overcome them, at the National Sculling Head, National Schools’ Regatta and latterly GB-France Trials, they were able to stick to an imperious race plan and emerge victorious. That crew contained James White, who went on to represent GB internationally and feature in the 2016 Oxford Blue Boat.
It would be no exaggeration to say that The Windsor Boys’ School have become the gold standard in junior sculling over the past decade, led by the evergreen Mark Wilkinson and his roster of coaching staff. With a portfolio of talent rolling off the yearly production line, it will be very interesting to see how the club have dealt with the effects of COVID-19 and what sort of crew they’re able to field in 2021.
Want to find out more about Windsor Boy’s School? Check out their website.
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