Walhampton was honoured to support the Royal Lymington Yacht Club’s Youth Week at the end of the summer holidays.

The event saw over 180 young sailors competing and having fun on the water. They contended with winds of up to 18 knots, strong tides and torrential rain, with a sprinkling of sunshine across the three days of racing. The week culminated in a prize giving ceremony, where our Head, Jonny Timms, was delighted to congratulate the winning sailors.

The School partners with the Yacht Club to enable sailors of all levels, including those undertaking Walhampton Sailing Scholarships, to compete both locally and nationally. Jonny Timms said: “Many thanks to all the volunteers, those helping behind the scenes and on the sea, to help run this annual event and keep our young sailors safe on the water. Sailing is a big part of school life at Walhampton and in the Lymington community. It teaches important life lessons such as resilience and perseverance, and builds important transferable skills including teamwork and leadership. We are very fortunate that our School has its own lakes for water sports and is so close to the sea, but our partnership with Royal Lymington Yacht Club enables a full programme of summer sailing and it is a privilege to be able to support such a well established event in the youth sailing calendar.” 

We provide children with many exciting opportunities to get involved with the sailing programme, from weekly sailing sessions to squad training and competing at high level events such as IAPS  (Independent Association of Prep Schools) Regatta. Our sailors did well again at this year’s summer IAPS competition, bringing home silverware in the Under 11s sailing regatta and winning the Under 13s championship with Walhampton pupils also taking second place in individual races. Several of our Seniors compete in events across the UK and Walhampton Sailing Scholars, Laszlo and Felix, were pleased to have made team GB as part of the Junior Team competing at the Irish National Championships. 

This year Laszlo achieved 3rd place in his age group during the Optimist Spring Championships and finished 4th out of 64 main fleet boats in the Optimist Late Summer Championships, held in Wales.

However, it's not just Walhampton Scholars that enjoy all the sailing fun! Recently two of  our Year 5 boys decided to take their passion one stage further to raise money for the School’s charity, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance. Last term Ivor and Bora took on an ambitious challenge, sailing from Lymington to Yarmouth, battling big swells and waves coming into the harbour to raise nearly £5,000 for this amazing local charity. 

Walhampton Sailing Lead, Mrs Williams, explains: “We aim to get as many children as possible out on the water using the facilities at Lymington. During the summer months we run regular Tuesday sessions at The Royal Lymington Yacht Club, take part in their Wednesday Junior Sailing Programme and during our Expeditions Week all the Juniors participate in a dedicated sailing day. We have many enthusiastic sailors and Walhampton staff supporting these activities to share in their successes.”

In addition to sailing, we offer a range of honorary Scholarships in disciplines including academic, art, drama, equine, music and sports, as well as access to bursaries to support talented individuals. Scholarships at Walhampton recognise potential and aim to inspire and stretch children to achieve their best at the highest levels, wherever their passion lies. Successful Scholars receive individual support from teachers who are specialists in the fields, they also have access to extra enrichment activities and children are encouraged to share their experiences and knowledge with the Walhampton community. Find out more about our Hordle House Scholarships.