Year 7 Sailing Weeks 

Our sailing weeks are an integral and exciting part of the first term for all our Year 7 pupils, where they learn to sail as a beginner or improve their skills over the course of a week-long programme at Alton Water, led by our experienced Director of Sailing, Mr Sibson, and his team. 

Each morning pupils learnt or developed their sailing skills; those new to the sport worked towards the RYA Youth Sailing Scheme Stage 1, whilst those with more experience worked towards the higher stages. Pupils were split into small groups, each with their own dedicated instructor who taught them the basics of sailing alongside plenty of time on the water. Topics covered included launching and recovery, starting and stopping, getting out of irons and steering and capsize recovery. 

Director of Sailing, Ed Sibson, comments "We've had a great few weeks; this is such an important part of the school's year 7 programme, enabling all our new pupils to experience the thrill of sailing. But it's more than just that, they bond with their peers, learn to work with each other and support each other through the challenging times, setting them up for their time at RHS. We've issued 32 Stage 1 certificates and a good quantity of Stage 2, 3 and 4 as well. All the pupils have done really well and achieved so much in such a short space of time." 

Our pupils 

“I found it difficult at first but by the end of the week I was sailing my own boat and I was really proud of myself for doing that.” 

“It was terrifying, but I really enjoyed it.” 

“It made me feel really brave because I thought I was going to be scared but then I really liked it.” 

“Being out on the water was really peaceful on your own but you had to be really aware of your surroundings and you needed good hand-eye coordination.”  

“My group got to try standing up in the boat which was really fun.” 

Find out more about our Sailing Academy here: Sailing Academy at the Royal Hospital School