ROWING: Doubles pairing Sam Branford and Callum O’Reilly lead the way for Stourport Boat Club at the National Schools’ Regatta.

The event offers opportunities for junior rowers between the J14 and J18 age groups.

Since beginning in 1947, it has grown to what is a world-class event enjoyed by clubs and schools across the United Kingdom.

Stourport sent four crews to compete, with J14 pair Branford and O’Reilly in fine form to deliver an outstanding performance.

Over the last few weeks, they have been winning at local regattas and were ready to test themselves at the highest level.

There were so many entries that the boys first had to get through their time trial and they produced a strong performance which saw them through to the final.

In the end, they finished up in fifth place, a superb performance for a relatively new combination.

Shauna McClaren missed out on a semi-final place by only two seconds in another encouraging performance, while Bruce McClaren gained valuable experience on the multi-lane course in the J17 sculls.

The J16 quartet of Eleanor Shepherd, Frankie Ward, Sian Hinton and Harriet Blackmore just missed out on a final finishing fourth in the semi-finals.