Sailing

At Claires Court, senior pupils can opt to sail or paddle in Games lessons, and pupils from Year 5 upwards can join our after school sailing activity during the Summer term. 

All of our instructors hold the relevant National Governing Body qualifications and we are an RYA Recognised Teaching Centre.

The school sails at Maidenhead Sailing Club which is just a short walk from the Senior Boys site.

Students are brought to the lake, where we have our own boats and storage facilities.

Our students' skill levels range from beginner through to those competing at National and International levels, and our coaching team is highly skilled and experienced, with personal experience of competing and coaching at National and International levels.

OnBoard is the RYA’s grassroots programme to get young people aged 8-18 into sailing and windsurfing, and nationally, since 2005 has introduced 750,000 young people to sailing. This figure is well on target to hit 1,000,000 soon, and we are proud that in the East Region there are a growing number of OnBoard Clubs. OnBoard underwent an exciting new launch in 2017, drawing on research carried out in collaboration with Professor Bill Lucas from the University of Winchester, emphasising the broader learning benefits of sailing. 

This is what the researchers found…

• OnBoard sessions are enjoyed by almost all participants and engender feelings of fun and freedom

• The sessions contribute to a participant’s wider personal and social development. This included enhancing their social skills with both peers and adults; maturity; ability to accept responsibility and concentrate on tasks

• Participants felt more supported by their peers. They also felt more relaxed and confident in themselves following an OnBoard session

• OnBoard plays an important role in tackling social injustice. It provides unique experiences to those from disadvantaged backgrounds and can help to develop self-confidence and open up further opportunities.

• OnBoard sessions particularly develop the attributes of teamwork, communication and confidence.

OnBoard has been shown to develop six character attributes – these are: