20 June 2025

Dear Parents,

Clifton children running around on the fields, climbing trees, riding bikes and having fun outdoors are generally in good shape: lean and fit without much extra body mass. They remind me of a photograph of the 1936 USA Olympic rowing team: nine determined young men from ordinary backgrounds who had no access to modern high performance diets or gym programmes and were quite scrawny compared with their modern counterparts.

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown tells the extraordinary true story of nine young men from working-class families in the American Northwest who overcame tremendous odds to win gold in the men’s eight rowing event at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

At the heart of the book is Joe Rantz, a teenager abandoned by his family, who finds both healing and purpose through rowing. His journey mirrors the resilience and quiet determination of his teammates, many of whom were the sons of loggers, farmers, and labourers struggling during the Great Depression.

Under the guidance of legendary coach Al Ulbrickson and the masterful boatbuilder George Pocock, the University of Washington crew rose from underdogs to champions. They competed against—and eventually defeated—elite Ivy League teams and international rivals, many of whom were trained under far more privileged conditions.

The story builds toward the dramatic final in Berlin, where the Americans faced off against a formidable German team backed by Hitler’s regime. With political tension, personal hardship, and a near-perfect race strategy unfolding stroke by stroke, the Washington crew pulled off an unforgettable victory by just one second.

The Boys in the Boat is much more than a sports story. It’s about how ordinary people, when bound by trust, commitment, and a shared purpose, can achieve the extraordinary. It reminds us that heart, humility, and hard work are timeless ingredients for success.

The holistic education offered at Clifton along with our intentional striving to develop EQ, character and personal bests lays solid groundwork for children to grow into  significant young adults who have all the tools for success at school and beyond.