St Leonard's School Boat Club - Durham | UK Rowing Clubs | Row HQ

St Leonard's School Boat Club is the rowing club of St Leonard's Catholic School in Durham. It rows on the River Wear from the University College boathouse by Prebends Bridge and is affiliated to British Rowing under the code SLS.

The school says the club was established in the early 1970s by woodwork teacher Mr Parker, who had previously introduced rowing at Consett Grammar School. Other club records give 1970 as the founding year and say St Leonard's took over the boathouse vacated by Consett Grammar School.

National success followed early. The school records a National Championships bronze in a competition whose winning crew included Steve Redgrave, and says the club went on to produce several British champions.

The programme initially concentrated on boys, before achieving substantial success with girls during the 1980s and 1990s. That period included an England representative at the Home Countries Regatta and victory in a women's pairs event at one of the first Henley Women's Regattas.

The club remains active in local competition. Durham Regatta's results record St Leonard's wins in open non-championship quads in 2023, women's intermediate singles in 2024, and women's J16 doubles and non-championship coxed fours in 2025.

The school's public address is North End, Durham, while the rowing base is separately identified at Prebends Bridge. The school continues to present rowing as part of its pupil enrichment programme.