Harewood indoor rowers prove the distance

The winning team finished in 2 hours 13 minutes 30.1 seconds, a minute ahead of the runners-up, with 3rd and 4th just a few minutes behind them.

These impressive young men, recently crowned National Schools League champions, have used their talents to raise funds for good causes, this time the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust. The students are backing the Trust because it was the chosen charity of one of the college’s head boys from last year. And as a thank you to the support Harewood College has given the Trust over the past year, seven boys have been invited to attend the 25th anniversary memorial for Stephen Lawrence.

Principal, David Bromfield, said, “The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust is very much about supporting young people’s dreams and showing them they can be whatever they want to be. With every new challenge our rowers are proving that no distance is too far for them to overcome and every goal is possible if they work hard for it. Everything is achievable.

“Stephen Lawrence was a young man with ambition and we want to show our boys that nothing is beyond their reach. It will be a tremendous honour to attend the memorial and I am sure the boys will be inspired by the experience.”

The Stephen Lawrence memorial will be held at the St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in Trafalgar Square today (23 April) and some of the Harewood rowers along with David Bromfield and their coach Paul Sawyer will be attending. A host of dignitaries are expected to attend along with Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Prince Harry and Megan Markle. With that venue in mind, the Harewood rowers decided to row the equivalent distance of Harewood College to Trafalgar Square – 146.4 kilometres. Squad members were divided into four 10-man teams, with each team racing 36.6 kilometres. Each team comprised students from all year groups with the year 11s as captains.

With sponsorship monies still coming in, it is anticipated that the total funds raised will be in the region of £500. This is the second major indoor rowing charity fundraising activity organised by Harewood College this term following February’s ‘Dover to Calais’ Channel Row, which raised almost £1,000 for Bournemouth Hospital.

CEO of Avonbourne Trust, Debbie Godfrey-Phaure, said: “We are honoured to be supporting the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, which very much mirrors our core values and ethos.

“The Stephen Lawrence Trust helps young people from all backgrounds to fulfil their ambitions. We want to make the world a smaller place for our young people and show them nothing is beyond their reach.”Stephen Lawrence had dreams of becoming an architect and the Trust supports other young people who have the same goal.

There are plans for Avonbourne Trust to form closer ties with the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust so any of its students who are thinking of becoming architects can receive its support.