Boarding schools for rowing mad DS?

[upatdawn]

Our DS is in year 11 and is absolutely rowing mad! He currently goes to a school nearby which goes up to 16 and rows at the local club. We are thinking about options for 6th form now and he desperately wants to go to a boarding school where he can concentrate fully on rowing as well as maintaining the grades he wants. Does anyone know of any schools which fit our criteria and offer sports scholarships?

TIA

Are you aware how much boarding schools cost £30k plus per year. Unless he is outstanding in rowing he is unlikely to get a huge amount of help.

A rowing shell costs £30k, a set of blades £2k, Easter camp in Spain £400, Christmas camp in the Alps £400, Olympian coach ????? - someone's got to pay for it. Staying at the top of junior rowing doesn't come cheap. I don't know how the top schools keep fees to £30k a year.

Dulwich certainly rows and has a very sporty reputation all round. But its boarding is nearly all international students, so you might want to think carefully.

I'm not sure any state boarding schools have strong reputations for rowing.

Would you consider a day school near to where you are? And are there parts of the country which make sense for boarding too (ease of journey proximity of eg grandparents if you're not handy)?

Shrewsbury school do very well at Henley

I believe St Peters, York, is strong at rowing (and other sports) too.

Someone mentioned earlier Leander club. It's in Henley on Thames and the 6th form college in Henley has a lot of students who live with host families. If you approach the college and ask, I think they have a list of local families of who have had students as lodgers. Lots of international students do this. It's a state 6th form, so no costs apart from rent and food.

But really, I don?t know of any other school in the world that takes rowing more seriously than this School.

Which Boat Club on the planet, let alone schools, can boast of owning its own private Olympic standard rowing lake? Until very recently, this boarding school even made and exported its own world-class boats. The present day cheaper (and more inferior) boats ?Made in China? have since forced the school?s boat-making business arm out of operation.

OP, this seems like the perfect boarding school for rowing that can also maintain the grades and have recently produced some world-class rowers that your son wants. I don?t know how viable it is for you to send him there but the school does offer (academic) 6th Form scholarships.

Some rowing schools are near the river and some aren't. For example Latymer prep is near the river but the senior school isn't. Shrewsbury overlooks the river and is a very happy school. So, as ever, it must be important to look round the school. Also, because children change so much, the rowing may not be everything as the child grows up: so, and this is probably obvious, look at other things too. If your child gets an academic scholarship he/she can then row whilst at the school, no? If in the team which wins the P Elizabeth cup you get invited to be a member of Leander. University has to be thought through as not all universities row. Those universities which do row don't necessarily take that into account when deciding on admissions.

QTPie, excellent advice. The worst thing would be to go to a school where he wouldn't get the opportunities he hoped for. Any school should be happy to talk to you about this - if not then clearly not the right school.

www.monmouthschool.org/en/M_rowing

Very reasonable fees for an independent boarding school.

St Edwards Oxford may be a good rowing school but is not academic

One of the cleverest people I know went to St Edwards Oxford and he achieved impeccable results: the school does perfectly well by academic children.

Though of course as it is in Oxford, locals like to have a pop at it.

Two other schools for you to have a think about:

Oakham - rows well, generally good at sports (perhaps not what you're looking for, but Charlie Bairsto, the recent transatlantic rower is a recent Old Boy). The school is about half and half border/day, and offers both IB and A level. As a former direct grant school, it used to be more academic, and is still more down to earth than

Uppingham - which also rows well.

I'm sure there are some good students there. One clever boy doesn't prove it's an academic school though.
I have nothing against it or Oxford boarding schools in general.
I know a teacher who works there & he wouldn't send his children there as it's not great for the brightest children.

Sorry I haven't replied in a while, have been rushed off my feet. Thanks for all of the great responses though!

QTpie thats some great advise and we will definitely be following through with that.

scarevola, DS actually races against St Peter's locally - they don't have a very good reputation! Also not the strongest academically.

Out of the rest, we've requested a few prospectus's and looking into some open days and will hopefully be able to find a great school that offers what we're after.

Thanks for all of the great help!

Staverton - There's more than one clever boy at St Ed's. At least 10 went to Oxbridge last year, one of whom was a teacher's daughter and that is despite having a very balanced intake. The head of Oxford High sent her son there so I would say it's quite academic enough.

EdithWeston - are you sure about Oakham and Uppingham rowing??? I've never seen a crew from those schools at a competition.