IT WAS a golden weekend for Sir William Perkins’s School sixth-former Anna Cowell, as she enjoyed medal winning success representing Great Britain.

Anna, 17, along with her rowing partner Lucy Thomson from Chester Royal Boat Club, won Gold and Silver in two events of the U19 Women’s Double Scull at the Coupe de la Jeunesse Regatta in Spain.

“Finishing the weekend with medals in her first championship representing Great Britain is a massive achievement and could be the start of an exciting international rowing journey for Anna,” said a spokesman for the Chertsey school. “It also marks the end of a thrilling season for Sir William Perkins’s School (SWPS) Boat Club.”

The sporting triumph at what can be viewed as the European Junior Championships is the culmination of much hard work and dedication. After an intense 10 months of testing by the national team selectors, Anna was ranked in the top six junior women’s scullers in the country.

She had been coached for the competition by the Chertsey school’s head rowing Coach Chris Boddy, a former GB rower.

“This is an immense achievement for Anna, and also a huge boost for the SWPS Boat Club, at the end of what has been a wonderful season of progress with excellent results at, among others, the National Schools Regatta, Henley Regatta and the Henley Women’s Regatta,” he said.

The school’s boat club has gone from strength to strength since the school took the decision to develop rowing as an elite sport in 2016, and successes this year mean it is now ranked in the top five girls’ rowing schools in the country.