Members of staff competed against students from the Sixth Form in a hard-fought but good-natured rowing competition, as part of Children’s Mental Health Week.

Participants teamed up and competed across a whole day to see how far they could travel using the College rowing machines in order to raise awareness of Mental Health.

In what turned out to be a close contest of endurance, the College staff took an early 7.5km lead.  However, the students closed the gap, and were within touching distance for most of the day, but were unable to take the win!

The final results saw staff win the contest 85km to 81.5km (85km equalling nearly 53 miles or just over two marathons).

According to NHS Digital, it is estimated that 1 in 4 young people aged between 17 and 19 experienced a mental health problem in 2022, an increase from 1 in 6 from the year before.

Mr Brown, College Director, who organised the competition wished to raise awareness of Mental Health and wanted to involve a physical challenge as part of this.

According to the MIND charity, the benefits of getting active include the improvement of general mood, the lifting of self-esteem and a reduction of stress and the risk of depression.

It also improves sleep and slows the onset of dementia and cognitive decline.

Speaking after the event, Mr Brown thanked the participants for embracing the challenge.

“The Rowathon created a great buzz around the College and in the Dining Hall.

Hopefully it got some conversations started around Mental Health too and helps to build awareness.”

The College would like to thank all those who participated.