As a Deputy Head I have been involved with eight channel relay swims, the vast majority involving Prep School pupils aged 13 or younger. As we stood on our boat at 2.24am, 200 metres off Shakespeare Beach in Dover, it all felt very different. As a Head, you have signed off the risk assessment and you are wracked with worry. We had done the training, but the sea state was rough, the sky pitch black and the pupils were clearly starting to show the first signs of sea sickness. Could this be the year it all goes wrong?  

2.26am, Will Cavill gets the call, he is in the water and swimming to the beach with every spotlight on Gallivant, our boat, shining on him. He clears the water and is ready. 2.30am, the siren sounds and Will, and Amelie who is on the other boat with Mr McCarthy, stride into the English Channel and we are off. The first swim is horrible, and Will does remarkably well to stay tracking next to a boat which is being tossed in the sea conditions. I know he won’t be cold – we have been swimming in the sea since May when temperatures were 12 degrees, the channel a balmy 17 degrees – but I worry he is suffering from sea sickness in the rolling chop. He battles on and is soon clear of the harbour wall. Before we know it, his first hour is up and Charlie is next in. Just as I go to put him in, he retches and is sick over the side of the boat, what do I do? As a parent let alone a Head, you first reaction is to take them away from the sickness, but Charlie is very clear with me – I go in, I go in for the team, I want this. After Charlie’s hour the same happens with Millie and Holly who are both violently sick. I feel terrible but they all emerge from their swim elated and proud, they are now channel swimmers, and the team is all important to them. By the time Holly emerges, the sun is now up and whilst the sea state is still rough the sight of a horizon calms everyone’s stomach and suddenly the dream of swimming the channel can turn to one enjoyment and beauty – the sunrise is something to behold and cherish.  

Bella and Ted turn the hard work of their teammates into their own challenge and swim like never before, emerging from their hour with big smiles and exhausted shoulders, they too are proud of their team and what this means after two years of training and hardship. Before long, the challenge of the channel turns to the monotony of the second swim, balancing tiredness, hunger and dehydration with the need to stay awake and cheer on your teammates. The channel, infamous as the busiest shipping lane in the world, takes on a new challenge as monstrous cargo freighters pass us by with drones also flying overhead, presumably trying to track the plight of asylum seekers risking everything in an overloaded inflatable. Suddenly, the one thing everyone had been dreading becomes a reality. Shoals of compass jellyfish start to swarm and to start with, we were able to direct the swimmers around them but before we know it a group of 10-12 become a wall and Charlie has no choice but to swim straight through them, the pain is clear but the determination is greater and he just gets on with it, red lesions visible on his body as he battles through the pain. Twelve hours pass with every swimmer having completed their second swim. The tides have been big, and we are now in danger of missing the ‘Cap,’ the consequence would be an additional 4-5 hours in the water. With France almost in touching distance it is time for Will and Charlie to show even greater levels of resolve – I need them to swim their fastest hour, and they duly oblige, amazing determination etched on their faces whilst cheered on by their team who cheer on every stroke. This leaves Millie with about 45 minutes to take the team in. By now, the water has warmed under an August sky, but she wants to show Will and Charlie the gratitude of the whole team and flies through the final kilometres. As we approach shore the whole team get in the water and swim the final 300 metres. They clear themselves of the water, the siren sounds, and they can now celebrate having become channel swimmers at the age of 13. We quickly get back on board and go to watch our teammates, team ‘Pink,’ converge on a beach some 400 metres north of us. When they successfully complete their channel swim, the cheer from both boats tells you all you need to know this has never been about individuals, it has been a collective journey of courage and inner resolve to support your teammates and to achieve something exceptional.  

Taunton School has now seen ten teams of students swim the English Channel since 2016, raising more than £93,500 for various local organisations and charities.

Visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/taunton-school-long-distance-swimming-club-1721301628827 to support the team by donating to The Barnaby Webber Foundation.