What does it take to make a champion junior crew? In this day and age, the bar is forever moving, stretching and curling beyond what previous cohorts thought was possible. The St Paul’s mega-crew in 2018 re-defined what the art of the possible is for a junior boat whilst the fastest American and Australian outfits set fresh challenges for a British pack desperate to claim at least one, if not two or even three, of the titles available. The National Schools’ Regatta marks the second jewel in the triple crown and gives us our firmest indication yet as to who will be climbing the steps to receive their red box at the beginning of July. As the UK’s de-facto junior national championship, the stakes are never higher than whilst waiting for the tannoy to bark those immortal words; ‘Attention – Go’.
St Paul’s School
When is too early to anoint a winner? This statement might not make me many friends in rival schoolboy camps but it’s going to take something pretty extraordinary for anyone to beat St Paul’s next weekend. After a winter of unending disruption, we saw an indication of Paul’s speed when they took the Schools’ Head of the River headship by 11 seconds over Shiplake College. Bobby revealed in the British Rowing report that the crew had been suffering from illness in the run-up to that run-out and had only really paddled in the boat a day or so beforehand. If this is the level of performance they’re capable of when depleted, their full-send is going to be scary. At Wallingford Regatta, they finished third in Challenge Eights, a second behind Thames’ Rowing Club ‘A’ boat and comfortably the fastest-finisher from the junior contingent.
Shiplake College
Shiplake seem to struggle to shake the assumption that their speed diminishes greatly in the summer, regardless of how far they are ahead of the pack in March. Although I’m not sure I personally buy into that theory, these boys don’t have their usual head-start as we approach the apex of regatta season. Their performance at the Schools’ Head of the River was in keeping with what I expect from Dave Currie and Hugh Mackworth-Praed’s men and had we not been dealing with a generational talent in St Paul’s, they probably would have won the contest outright. As it is, they’re part of a large crop of crews revving their engines and, likely, vying for weekends slots at Henley Royal Regatta. As the second-highest placing junior boat at Wallingford Regatta – fourth in the repechage and missing out on final qualification by three seconds, despite missing a man to the Munich International Regatta – I think Shiplake will be aiming to close the gap on Paul’s and secure themselves a podium finish for the first time since 2019.
King’s College School, Wimbledon
A boat club who have flirted with the summit on a number of occasions over the past five years but have yet to find the ruthless streak that so often leads to victory. Their tilt at glory in 2022 – when they had a supremely talented crew – ended in a bronze at this event and a Saturday displacement at the hands of a resurgent St Paul’s unit several weeks later on the Henley stretch. If they can improve on those showings in 2024, I would classify that as a very successful campaign. Like Shiplake, KCS have done remarkably well to transition from competent ‘Child Beale’ program to a perennially-competitive championship outfit. It should be said that they were less than 2.5 seconds off the tail of St Paul’s in their heat at Wallingford and their third-placed finish at the Schools’ Head of the River indicates that the boat is strong. A medal should be the clear ambition next Sunday.
Eton College
Impossible to ignore as the grandfather of junior rowing, Eton will arrive on home water next weekend with the thinnest racing record of all in 2024. They pulled out of the Schools’ Head of the River at the last moment, citing illness and bereavement in their community, and then did not race alongside their typical contemporaries at Wallingford Regatta in the challenge category, opting instead to enter junior eights (which they won by an impressive seven seconds). Eton’s program always finds a way to cultivate speed at precisely the right time and I expect them to be competitive with the fastest programs next weekend. They were third at Quintin Head in the J18 category way back in January but I don’t read too much into this – Eton are seasoned in the art of regatta season surge.
St Edward’s School
After a historic 2023, when this boat club won both the National Schools’ Regatta and Henley Royal Regatta, there was always going to be a small bump as they reconnected with the ground. That bump has not been as pronounced as some might have expected, as a fourth-placed finish at the Schools’ Head of the River (three seconds behind Shiplake in second) indicates that their bench of talent remains competitive heading into the summer. St Edward’s have experienced the full arc of junior rowing, from near-misses in 2013 and 2014 to near-anonymity in the latter half of the decade before their mighty return to the top of the table in 2023. Although I’m not sure they’ll have the legs to repeat the trick in 2024, they should never be discounted as fierce racers and athletes coached by some of the most experienced heads in the game.
Radley College
The final crew to go sub 16:40 at the Schools’ Head of the River in March, Radley probably represent the last of the boats that I consider to be of genuine medal contention. As has been proven on so many occasions, Radley have a very distinctive increase in speed as they approach the critical summer events, so much so that I have regularly found myself writing them off only to then be found wanting as they surge through regattas to surprise and confound in equal measure. They made the weekend of Henley Royal Regatta in 2022 and 2023 and given the congestion that is swirling behind St Paul’s, I think they’ll have similar ambitions in 2024. They lost three athletes to the Munich International Regatta, so opted not to put a crew out at Wallingford, but with that much British representation, you have to assume that they’ve got talent in the ranks. Match that with the infrastructure and impressive coaching style and you begin to wonder whether Radley might just be one of only a handful of boats capable of standing up to St Paul’s…
Westminster School
Sixth on home water in March, Westminster are undergoing a regime change after Josh Butler upped sticks and took the big job at Hampton School. A steady performer since stepping into the eights fray back in the middle of the last decade, you need to flick back through the pages of time to 2015 to find the last time these boys appeared in a Henley Royal Regatta final (where they were defeated by Bobby Thatcher’s St Paul’s crew). They’ll be looking to cement themselves in the A-final and would do well to take the occasional glance over their shoulder at a busy couple of crews behind them…
Latymer Upper School
Always competitive across the age groups, there is an argument to be made that Latymer have not yet found the secret sauce to translate success in the younger years to serious silverware at championship level. They were seventh at the Schools’ Head of the River and had an athlete compete at the Munich International Regatta over the Wallingford weekend. Again, with the relative lack of racing, it is hard to build up a complete picture but I would suggest that Latymer will be aiming to secure that eighth slot in the ‘A’ final next weekend.
Bedford School
Fresh off the back of wins at their home regatta in both open and junior 18 eights, Bedford are attempting that most complex of transitions – stepping from big fish in first eight pond to small fish in championship ocean. They’re making a good fist of it, finishing eighth overall at the Schools’ Head of the River before ending up third in junior eights at Wallingford Regatta (I am unsure if this was their complete first eight given they lost to Dulwich, whom they beat comfortably in March). They’re racing again at Poplar Regatta this weekend, so keep an eye on their performance against the likes of Westminster.
Prediction
Hmm. Over the years, I have written many JRN predictions – with varying degrees of accuracy – but this one feels slightly more straightforward than most. I just cannot see anyone getting past St Paul’s – the gold medal is theirs to lose. The race for bridesmaid-in-chief is definitely on though and could arguably go any which way between messers Shiplake, Eton, KCS, Radley and Teddies. I am going to plump for KCS to take silver and Shiplake to secure bronze.
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