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Rowing
Dame Alice Harpur School has an enviable position in the sport of rowing. Prior to 1995, girls rowed at Star & Bedford RC. In 1995, Dame Alice became affiliated to the ARA and girls from DAHS who rowed for both clubs joined together and raced at Women's Henley for the first time. Today, over 100 girls row on a regular basis at Dame Alice.
Since then, the sport has gone from strength to strength, with wins at Schools' Head, National Schools' Regatta, Inter-regional regatta and many local heads and regattas. Dame Alice has provided strong representation at GB-France Match, Home Countries, Coupe de La Jeunesse and Junior World Rowing Championships.
Under the guidance and coaching of Sharon Noble-Layng and Linda Higgins, the girls can either enjoy the sport at a relaxed pace or strive for Olympic potential like Dame Alice's latest prodigy, Maria Larsen, selected to represent Great Britain in the Junior Olympics in Sydney in January 2007.
The school enjoys a fabulous location within five minutes' walk of the boathouse where the Harpur Trust schools' eights, fours, pair and singles are stored and maintained by the boathouse staff.
As a curricular sport, Rowing starts in Year 8. Girls are split into groups of 10 and come to the river for half a term in their PE lesson. By Year 9, they will have completed two terms throughout the year in PE lessons. Progression to Year 10 - 13 will include more technique sessions as well as fitness training in the gym. For those that show potential, there are a number of training camps and overseas races that provide further opportunities.