Students from Great Marlow took on the daunting challenge of rowing one million metres in an effort to raise money for much needed equipment last week.

The distance is the equivalent to that between Marlow and Norway and all members of the Great Marlow School boat club, as well as year seven students, completed the task on rowing machines.

After reaching their original target, the rowers continued to put in the hard yards to finish on a grand total of 1.2 million metres travelled, leaving head coach, Fergus Murison, delighted.

He said: “This event always raises a lot of money for the club which is so very important for the purchase of new equipment.

“More importantly, it manages to bring together all those who row as well as so many younger students who are experiencing the thrill of competition rowing for the first time.”

The rowing machines were in operation from 9am-4pm and the club had raised just over £4,000 at the last count, with the final figure expecting to rise beyond that.

The fundraising effort was not the only success the club enjoyed in the last week as they took a strong squad to the first race of 2016 on Saturday.

Their girls J14 team were unlucky to miss out on a top three finish as they finished fourth, just two seconds behind their closest rivals.

The J15 girls coxed four went one better as they picked up a bronze medal which they then followed up with a fifth place finish in their eights race.

The J16 boys again highlighted their quality as they finished second in their coxless fours and quad events.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of their displays was the fact they out raced two of the medallists from last year’s British Championships.

Murison said: “The conditions on Saturday were tough with high winds gusting at times, but the first race of the year is always exciting.

“With the fast flowing river recently preventing the crews for training on the water, everyone was keen to be back in the boats.

“We had some solid performances on Saturday that bode well for our 2016 season.”