Kew House School pupils have celebrated a series of strong performances at the National Schools Regatta, including a podium finish and a historic result for the school's Championship Boys' Eight.

The Kew school's Boat Club travelled to the Olympic Course at Eton Dorney over the late May Bank Holiday weekend to compete in the country's leading junior rowing championship.

A record 1,174 crews, 163 clubs and schools and 5,497 athletes competed across the three-day event.

Pupils from Year 9 through to Sixth Form represented Kew House, with crews competing across junior and Championship events.

One of the weekend's standout results came in the Championship Coxed Four.

After finishing 18th in the time trial, the Kew House crew progressed to the C Final, where they finished second after moving through the field during the race.

The crew had developed during the school's Easter rowing training camp in Belgium.

Meanwhile, two Kew House pupils reached the same Championship Single Sculls final, with Ethan finishing third and Aidan fourth.

The result meant two pupils from the school finished alongside one another in an eight-lane national final.

The school's Championship Girls' Quad also progressed to the C Final, eventually finishing fifth after securing second place in their C/D semi-final.

The crew will now turn its attention to Henley Women's Regatta and Henley Royal Regatta.

For the Championship Boys' Eight, the weekend marked a first for Kew House.

The crew reached the B Final after progressing from an A/B semi-final featuring crews from schools including St Paul's, Westminster, King's College, Hampton, Eton, Dulwich and Abingdon.

It was the first time a Kew House Championship Boys' Eight had reached the National Schools Regatta B Final.

The crew finished fifth, just 0.2 seconds behind Reading Blue Coat and 1.9 seconds behind Shrewsbury, with fewer than five seconds separating the first five boats.

The crew will now compete at Marlow Regatta, with the possibility of securing pre-qualification for Henley Royal Regatta.

Younger pupils also gained experience at the national event.

Almost half of the Year 9 B crew were competing at an external regatta for the first time, while the Year 9 A crew finished 16th in the morning time trial in the Canterbury Cup for Junior 14 Coxed Quadruple Sculls, narrowly missing out on the B Final by 2.2 seconds.

Four Year 10 coxed quads also competed, with the Girls' A crew finishing 37th and the Boys' A crew finishing 27th overall, 10 places higher than Kew House's result in the same event the previous year.

Both B crews progressed to D Finals.

The school's J16 double scull also competed in the Marlow Bowl, finishing 24th overall after progressing to the D Final.

Kew House said the results demonstrated the development of its rowing programme, from pupils experiencing their first external regattas to senior athletes competing at national Championship level.

The school said rowing also provides pupils with opportunities to develop teamwork, organisation, resilience and the ability to perform under pressure.

The weekend was described by the school as a "memorable" one, featuring three days of competition, national finals, personal milestones and a first for its Championship Boys' Eight.

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