St Leonard's

The school rowing club was established in the early 1970s by Mr Parker, a woodwork teacher, who had previously introduced rowing to Consett Grammar School. It was not long before rowing took off and the club were winning medals at national events. One notable medal was a bronze at the National Championships with the gold medal winning crew containing one Sir Steve Redgrave. 

Initially the focus was on boys rowing, but the club went on to have considerable success in girls rowing in the 1980s and 1990s. This included representation on the England team at the Home Countries Regatta as well as a win in the women’s pair event at one of the first Henley Women’s Regatta.