The School has been operating for a number of years as a Royal Yachting Associating (RYA) Training Centre and, in 2018, we were delighted to become an RYA British Youth Sailing Recognised Club, one of only 15 clubs nationwide and one of only two schools in the UK to hold this accreditation.

What it means to be an RYA Training Centre

This new initiative will see the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) work alongside sailing clubs across the country, as it bids to promote grassroots sailing and support junior and youth sailors develop their racing skills. In 2014, Windermere School became the first school in the UK to achieve RYA Champion Club status. RYA Champion Clubs are recognised as being ‘Centres of Excellence’ for junior race training and racing, many forming the very foundation of the British Sailing Teams. To gain this status, the school had to show that it not only introduces young people into racing, but also that it develops their enthusiasm and talent. A measure of this success is the number of young sailors who have gained places in the RYA Zone/Home Country Squads. Four years on, the school has now met the exacting standard required to achieve BYS Recognised Club status.

This status sets apart those sailing clubs, such as Windermere School, which demonstrate a commitment to the development of junior and youth racing and race training, delivered in a safe and fun environment. Several Windermere School pupils have won major championships in various classes. Graeme Rowe is the RYA Principal and Chief Sailing Instructor at Windermere School and has been race coaching for almost twenty years: “British Youth Sailing status demonstrates our continued commitment to bringing through talented race sailors. Several students have won national titles over the last few years and I have every confidence that more will follow.”