GRANGE School Rowing Club crews laid a marker on the national stage during the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head on Monday.

An under 15s boys’ octuple claimed a silver medal in their boat class after finishing second in a race against the clock on a course at Dorney Lake.

Ben Scawn, Felix Cream-Dunlop, Ben Fry, Oli Santini, Rory Innes, Alfie Dickens, Tom Haslam, Frankie Robertson and cox Lucy Hall made up a crew that was beaten only by The Windsor Boys’ School.

Two other crews from Grange, and under 14s boys’ octuple and an under 15s boys’ coxed quad, narrowly missed out on a medal after ranking fourth in their category.

The points collected by those three crews were enough to secure for Grange fourth place in the Victor Ludorum.

Trentham Boat Club occupied the top spot, while Henley and Tideway Scullers School were tied for second.

“There were fantastic performances from all of our crews,” said Simon Williams, director of sport at the Hartford school.

“It was great to see them show true Grange spirit and they can be proud of what they achieved.”

There were encouraging performances too by female crews.

An under 14s girls’ octuple classified inside the top 10, while an under 15s girls’ coxed quad was 11th in their boat class.

Williams added: “It was an excellent opportunity for students to not only compete, but excel as well, at a national competition held at a venue that hosted rowing during the Olympic Games back in 2012.”