An independent legal opinion has concluded that there are “strong grounds to challenge the lawfulness” of the controversial decision to ban three Cambridge students from taking part in next month’s Boat Race.
The two crews will be formally announced this evening in an event at Battersea Power Station in London with Cambridge unable to select the so-called PGCE three – Matt Heywood, Molly Foxell and Kate Crowley – following a complaint from Oxford University Boat Club (OUBC) that the teacher-training qualification “is a diploma and that is not a degree”.
After a four-month process, the interpretation panel that rules on eligibility to compete, which is governed by the joint agreement between the clubs, eventually upheld Oxford’s position earlier this month. The Guardian has learned that after that decision individuals connected to the athletes commissioned a legal opinion from Blackstone Chambers.
The KC-led report produced by four barristers at Blackstone, states: “We believe that there are strong grounds to challenge the lawfulness of the Decisions, as regards the Interpretation Panel’s jurisdiction to make them in the first place, the substantive outcome, and the procedure that the Interpretation Panel appears to have adopted.”
Cambridge remain deeply aggrieved at Oxford’s conduct, particularly as they claim OUBC have not responded to any communication from them or the University throughout the saga. OUBC have not responded to the Guardian’s request for comment.
With just over two weeks until the race Cambridge have no plans to act on the legal opinion at this stage as mounting a legal challenge would be time-consuming and potentially disruptive to the squad, but they are reserving all options for the future. The three students involved have reluctantly accepted their fate, prioritising the success of the squad as a whole over their own personal ambitions.
The interpretation panel, which is chaired by the corporate finance lawyer Ian Hodgson and comprises representatives from each club, made its initial decision following Oxford’s complaint last December before overturning it after Cambridge appealed in January. After Cambridge named Heywood, Foxell and Crowley in their crews for races on the Boat Race course in February, however, Oxford challenged their selection again on the grounds that schedule 2 of the joint agreement between the clubs governing the race states that the interpretation panel’s decisions are “binding, final and unappealable”.
Following this submission the panel reverted to its original decision, despite having previously accepted that it was flawed.
The legal opinion from Blackstone outlines three areas in which the lawfulness of the panel’s decisions could be challenged relating to its jurisdiction, the substantive outcome and the procedures used. The interpretation panel is accused of failing to observe the timescales set out in the joint agreement so that individual competitors and their teams have clarity on any issues of eligibility well in advance of the race. As a result the three students in question were preparing for the race until December unaware of any issues only to be ruled out, then reinstated the following month before being finally banned six weeks before the race, all while continuing to train.
The substance of the decision to dismiss the PGCE as “not a degree” is also questioned, as the website of the University of Oxford’s education faculty describes it as an “M level” or “level 7” qualification, a category that includes master’s degrees on the gov.uk website. Both clubs have regularly selected PGCE students, with Julia Robey, now deputy head of sixth form at King’s college school, Wimbledon, racing for Oxford in 2017.
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Finally the KC-led review asserts that the interpretation panel’s work is procedurally unfair. The students were not informed their involvement was being challenged, were not given any opportunity to represent themselves and have still not received any documentation regarding the decision.
The decision to ban PGCE students has been described as “an insult to teachers” by Imogen Grant, the reigning Olympic lightweight double sculls champion, who won the women’s Boat Race with Cambridge in 2017, 2018 and 2022. There are also widespread concerns that women will be disproportionately affected, as according to a teacher training census conducted by gov.uk, 68% of PGCE entrants across all universities in 2024-25 are female.
A PGCE is only required to teach in the state sector, with Heywood, Foxell and Crowley all working at state schools in Cambridgeshire in addition to their studies. “This is an insult to teachers everywhere and a desperate ploy from Oxford,” Grant said.
“I don’t believe this reflects on the current Oxford squad, who have also had to train among this uncertainty all year. I believe this is entirely down to select individuals among the alumni who have a narrow, outdated view of who rows boat races.”
