Half term was packed full with residential trips for boys right across the school. Our 1st XV celebrated winning the bowl at the Merchiston Castle School U18 rugby festival in Edinburgh, our hockey boys were put through their paces in Hamburg and 24 Fifth Form boys completed their Silver Duke of Edinburgh practice expedition in the Hope Valley in the Peak District – to name just a few.
Also on the trip itinerary was the much-loved annual rowing training camp held at Pangbourne College which, with its outstanding training facilities, offers boys the chance to improve their technique and develop small boat skills as well as try rowing in bigger boats. The Boat Club at Pangbourne College is located on a wide, six-kilometre stretch of the River Thames, which provided our boys with the opportunity to row on a longer stretch of water.
Forty-three boys from the Remove Form through to the Upper Sixth attended the camp. For a number of boys attending, who had not chosen rowing as their sport this term, it offered the perfect opportunity to get back into shape for rowing after a long spell.
During the week-long camp, the Junior 16s and Junior 18s rowed in pairs, coxed and coxless fours and eights, learning how to row with different people and in different combinations. Fifth Form boys rowed in the eights all week, learning to row using one blade rather than scull as they did in the Fourth Form.
The trip was not just about time on the water; it also enabled boys to spend quality time together as a team. Accommodation came in the form of two boarding houses on the Pangbourne campus, where the boys were fed very well and able to refuel with delicious home-cooked meals after expending all their energy on the river (they worked very hard during the week rowing at least 30km each day, normally they do 36km in a week at school). I am sure you can imagine that with that many active teenage boys, a lot of food was consumed!
During downtime between sessions, boys spent time revising, resting, hydrating and doing some video analysis, which the coaches had filmed during the session prior.
Bedford School’s Rowing Coach Oliver Satchwill said, “The boys were well behaved and praised on their behaviour and even on how clean they left their rooms! I am also delighted that two boys, Lowers Sixth Formers Dylan Mitchell and Rupert Apps, have been invited to the first part of the GB rowing trial process, which is testament to all the hard work they have put into the sport.”