‘Water’ is Westminster-speak for rowing. It has a long and illustrious history at the School. The written records of Water begin in 1813, but there are various reports, dating back to the 1790s, of Westminsters disporting themselves on the river around Lambeth. The building of the Embankment in the 1870s killed off competitive rowing in Central London and with it, temporarily, the Station. However, in the first few years of the 20th century, Westminster returned to the river with a new boathouse in Putney and the rowing ledgers began once again. The School’s Boathouse is situated on the Tideway at Putney.

Rowing at Westminster is an all-year-round pursuit on both Tuesday and Thursday afternoons – as well as numerous weekends for competitions and training. Small boat racing predominates in winter and bigger boat racing in summer. 90 to 100 boys and girls, from all year groups, travel by Thames River bus to the Boathouse for Water Station, where they receive some of the most expert coaching that you could hope for. Many of the external coaches have international and/or Olympic experience, either as coaches or athletes, and the team is assisted by very able Common Room staff, including the long-standing Master-in-Charge, who is a former national coach and Commonwealth Games medallist. Girls have the opportunity to learn to scull and row when they join the School and many have gone on to race or cox for Oxford or Cambridge in the Women’s Boat Race. A few have made the National Team and won World Championships.

Westminster rows at many regattas throughout the year, both at home and overseas, the most significant being the Schools’ Head, the National Schools’ and Henley Royal Regatta. Recent years have seen many Westminster wins, bringing with them international recognition. Westminster rowers have gone on to represent Britain in the World Junior Championships: in 2022, two pupils won Silver as part of GBR Eights Crew; in both 2024 and 2018, there was a Westminster representative in the winning GB Junior Eights; in 2016, six boys were selected from the School, two of whom were in the GB Coxless Four, who won Silver, and one pupil in the GB Eight, who won Bronze; and in 2015, a Westminster boy was in the Gold medal-winning GB Quad. Westminster boys are also selected each year for the Great Britain team at the Coupe de Jeunesse European cup and for the Great Britain Under 16 team. The School also competes in International Coastal racing with our girls quad winning in Monaco in 2024 and the J16 Quad finishing second in 2024 and 2025.