A ROWING school which has produced Olympic stars will finally get its own £2million home on the river Thames.
Headington School's rowing team, one of the best-performing girls’ rowing clubs in the UK, has been granted permission to build the new state-of-the-art facility in Long Wittenham.
Plans including a two storey boathouse, wet dock, landing stages and associated works have been approved by South Oxfordshire District Council and the school is now beginning a fundraising campaign.
Work, once it begins, is expected to take up to a year.
Performance director and head rowing coach Ryan Demaine said: “The new facilities will give the school secure access to the River Thames on a quiet stretch of the river where crews can train over longer distances than their current site at Godstow.”
Headington School’s rowing team has developed two Olympians and 118 girls who have rowed competitively for Great Britain.
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But it has never owned its own boathouse or had direct access to the River Thames.
For years it has rented facilities with other schools at Godstow and had to negotiate for training times.
It did not have room for all its boats and was adding to traffic in a congested part of the river.
The new boathouse, situated at Maddy Moorings opposite Lower Farm, will be used between 4pm and 5.45pm in the week and on Saturday mornings but no more than four days a week and less during the winter.
Long Wittenham Parish Council has welcomed the plans and suggested the new landing stages could be shared by villagers when not in use by the school.
Some have even suggested that they form their own Long Wittenham rowing club in future.
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The school has pledged to liaise closely with the village during construction and will use mini-buses to transport pupils to and from the boathouse to avoid congestion on nearby roads.
Headmistress Caroline Jordan said: “Headington is known for its excellent co-curricular programme and rowing has been one of our strengths for many years.
"I am delighted that, after a long search, we have finally been able to secure access to the River Thames for our own Boat Club."
The boathouse has been designed to have a minimal impact on the environment.
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