Bedford School Boat Club - Bedford | UK Rowing Clubs | Row HQ

Bedford School Boat Club is the rowing club of Bedford School, based at Longholme Boathouse on the Great Ouse. The school describes it as the sixth-oldest school boat club in the country, dating its foundation to 1861. It shares the boathouse with Bedford Girls' School and Bedford Modern School.

Club records place Bedford's first Henley appearance in 1879 and a Public Schools' Challenge Cup victory in 1881. Its best-known Henley period brought Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup wins in 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1951; the school also won Henley's Special Race for Schools in 1978.

The programme takes boys from introductory rowing into senior racing. A published training guide describes domestic camps at Pangbourne and Radley, a senior camp at Sarnen in Switzerland, and a season built around head races, the National Schools' Regatta and Henley qualification.

At Longholme, rowers have changing rooms, boat storage and an ergometer room. The main school estate adds a rowing performance room with ergometers, Wattbikes and weights for land training.

The first eight won the Child Beale Cup at the 2018 National Schools' Regatta. In 2022-23, Bedford won three Schools' Head pennants and a National Schools' bronze in the under-16 eight; in 2025 the first eight was eighth at Schools' Head, reached an A final at National Schools and won at Reading Town Regatta.

Old Bedfordians include Jack Beresford, who won five Olympic rowing medals between 1920 and 1936, and Phelan Hill, cox of the Great Britain eight that won Olympic gold at Rio 2016. The school also lists former pupils who have competed in the Boat Race, at Henley and for Great Britain at junior and senior level.