NATIONAL champion Harry Andersen stuck to the same formula to set a new Northern record.

Having clinched the national J16 title by sticking to a steady game plan before quickening towards the end, the Queen Elizabeth High School (QEHS) pupil stuck to his task and never panicked to win gold in the Year 11 boys’ event at the Northern Regional Indoor Rowing Championships.

In the process, his distance of 1,846m during the six minute event was a new regional record which means the Hexham school now holds the best times for boys and girls in each class from Years 11 to 13 within the Northern region.

Joining Harry in the gold was Eloise Woods, a pupil at Ponteland’s Richard Coates Middle School.

Her distance of 518m saw her 20 ahead of her closest rival as she took the title in the Year 7 girls’ race.

QEHS were in the medals elsewhere with Chloe Smith putting in a fantastic performance to take silver in the Sixth Form 2000m event, her new PB of 7:39.9 splitting GB trialists Abi Craig, of Newcastle High School for Girls, and Bobbie Forster, of Park View. QE teammates Sol Christopher and Daniel Jones were involved in a great battle in the Year 9 race and it was the former who just pipped Daniel to third place by just three metres during the four-minute race, Sol responding well to dropping out of the Northumberland final with a shoulder injury when leading the field.

Year 10’s Abe Parkin added another bronze to Hexham’s haul as he claimed third behind national champion Michael Bessent, of Thomas More, as he was just five metres off second spot. Ponteland High School’s William Viney just missed out to Abe in fourth spot.

Julia Gledson earned Haydon Bridge High School silver as she rowed a distance of 1,554m in the J16 girls’ race, finishing less than 10m ahead of bronze medalist Catherine Woods, of Ponteland.

There was a silver medal for Ponteland, though, as Anna Style finished second in the Year 9 girls’ race with 1,005m.

There were a number of near misses throughout the championships too, with the district well represented across the different age categories.

Lucy Cardno (984), of Ponteland, Haydon Bridge’s Bryony Agar (972) and Tasha Szweda (962), of QEHS, competed in the Year 9 girls’ event, with Andrew Fenwick (1,005), of Haydon Bridge, in the boys’ race.

Haydon Bridge duo Jay Jay Mackay (774) and Jack Campbell (767) competed in the Year 8 boys’ event, with schoolmate Kian Rock (1,597) present in the Year 11 race.

The category also contained many QEHS pupils with Christian Chomse (1,695), Tom Smith (1,647) and Tom Archer (1,636) represented.

As a result of the school’s popular rowing club, they also had competitors elsewhere with Tom Barnes (6:46.3) from the Sixth Form, and girls Olivia Graham (1,537), Alex Lea (1,476) and Ellie Dodd (1,451) participating in the Year 11 final and Imogen Wade (1,247), Olivia Holtham (1,235) and Emily James (1,181) in the Year 10 level.

James Brown (1,368) and Aiden Manns (1,338) made up a strong QE contingent, and they were joined in the Year 10 race by Ponteland’s Thomas Hyman (1,356).

Eleanor Sowerby (465), of Haydon Bridge, competed in the Year 7 girls’ race, with Corbridge Middle School’s Katie Chomse (741) and Richard Coates’ Jemma Tilbury (687) from the year above.