The start of half term saw the Boat Club compete at the National Schools' Regatta at Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham. Despite challenging, windy conditions throughout the weekend, there were strong performances across the board. The J14 Octo reached the D Final; the Girls' J15 Eight, Boys' 1st VIII, and Girls' J18 Coxed Four all contested the C Finals. Both the J15 and J18 Boys' Coxed Fours raced in B Finals, with the J18s claiming a B Final win. The J16 Girls finished 6th overall in the A Final of the Coxed Fours — a fantastic achievement. The whole club then raced at the Star Regatta in Bedford, with 45 races contested across 31 events in a single day. There were notable victories for the Senior Boys, the J15 Girls, and Philippa Hingley in the J13 Singles. Despite torrential rain, it was a strong and spirited showing from NSBC. The Senior Boys also made the trip to Reading Regatta, where they had a successful day racing in smaller boats. The Coxless Four won both their events, along with a strong victory in the Coxless Pair. In addition to National Schools, Henley has been a major focus for the Senior crews this term. The Girls’ 1st VIII made history by becoming the first ever Norwich School girls' crew to race at both Henley Women’s Regatta and Henley Royal Regatta. With seven of the crew still eligible to race in the Junior event for two more years, their qualification experience sets a strong foundation for next season. At Marlow Regatta, the Boys’ 1st VIII and the Fawley Quad raced in a final push for pre-qualification to Henley Royal Regatta. The Boys' 1st VIII successfully qualified and face a tough draw against St Paul’s School on Tuesday — best of luck to them. On a representative level, Joseph Hawkes, James Howard, Ellie Thwaites, and Amelie Ivie competed in Pairs at the GB J16 Trials. Finishing 4th and 5th in the A Final, they narrowly missed out on selection but have set their sights on higher goals for next year.  Looking ahead, Nicholas Conway will race at the GB U19 Final Trials and Crew Formation in July. We wish him the best of luck for a successful summer of racing. Finally, a heartfelt thank you to all members of the Boat Club — and to our parents — for their dedication, hard work, and support both on and off the water throughout the year.

During the final Tuesday of term, a few rugby players who were interested in taking their game to a new level gathered in Upper King Street to hear a short presentation from Brendan McGroarty about the opportunities offered by American Universities to rugby players. This builds on Ava Wride-Cooper’s amazing achievement of a 100% woman’s rugby scholarship to Quinnipiac in Massachusetts. In his brief presentation, Brendan took us not just through the undergraduate experience but also how the sports scholarship system works and what it would be like to be a sports scholar at an American university by showing us a day in the life of a student in upstate New York. He also highlighted that this opportunity was not for the most elite players but those playing to a good standard at school and county level. Men and Women’s Rugby is one of the fastest growing varsity sports in the US.  There were opportunities at the end to ask questions before starting the School day, inspired about what the future might bring. We hope to invite him back in the new academic year to build on this opportunity with the next generation of Norwich School rugby players.