PRIORY Junior School’s Year 5 and 6 girls achieved a remarkable indoor rowing double when participating in a national competition against more than 600 teams.

Abi Parish, Ellie Lucas, Samantha Harding and Emily Hinton broke the previous schools’ record for the 2,012 metres with a time of nine minutes 26.1 seconds. And, with all of the children in the two years taking part, each rowing in a team representing one of the Olympic rowing nations, it was the Priory-Slovenia team of Isaac Dunn, Paulius Inkratus, Theo Hall and Kyle Hassett who clocked the second fastest time in the boys’ event to finish a close second to Manchester Grammar School. Their time was nine minutes 23.7 seconds.

“The success is all the more remarkable as the school do not possess rowing machines of their own,” said deputy headteacher Kevin Sadler. “The children have thoroughly enjoyed their rowing experience and teams of four have practised their technique and change-over skills during the lunchtime and PE lessons on the machines kindly loaned to the school by St Neots Rowing Club.”