News Boat Race Triumph for Old Dolphin Alex Riddell-Webster 28.03.2023

On Sunday the whole of the school was celebrating after Old Dolphin Alex Riddell-Webster (Class of 2020), rowing at 3-seat for Cambridge, with her crew made it first past the post at the annual Oxford vs Cambridge Boat Race. Our multi-talented Mr Benton, the school’s librarian and Alex’s first coach at the school where she started rowing as a J14, commented, ‘Alex always showed great potential and we’re so proud of her for representing Great Britain at the age of 17 and now going on to win the boat race with Cambridge. Her experience of rowing on the Thames Tideway really proved advantageous in a race with such challenging conditions and very choppy waters’.

Cambridge’s women secured their sixth consecutive win over Oxford by four-and-a-quarter lengths despite a very strong start by the dark blue crew before Cambridge took control of the race. The Cambridge men also won their race, following a very bold manoeuvre by their cox, which secured the double for the light blues.

Alex was Captain of Boats at Godolphin and Latymer 2019-2020 before gaining a place at Cambridge University to read Computer Science. In her first two years at Cambridge Alex rowed in Blondie, the reserve women’s boat, but this year was delighted to step up to the 3-seat in Cambridge’s Women’s Blue Boat.

We really hope that our rowing programme will continue to nurture girls keen to follow in Alex’s footsteps. Already this season our first eight placed second at the Schools Head of the River on the Thames while our J15s took bronze at the National Junior Sculling Head at Eton Dorney. Earlier in the month we welcomed New Zealand world and Olympic rowing champion, Grace Prendergast, to speak at our Boat Club dinner; Grace rowed in the 7-seat of the Cambridge women’s eight who won the 2022 Boat Race. Mr Benton, who himself rowed for New Zealand whilst at school, said, ‘we hope that we will be welcoming Alex back to the school in the near future to inspire our next generation of Godolphin rowers’.