WYE Junior rowers led the way in the first time-trial of the autumn and winter season at the Monmouth Autumn Head of the River Race.

Monmouth School's oarsmen set the fastest time for the second year running in the downstream race, as a record 235 boats from 18 clubs and schools, including five boats from Holland, raced against the clock over 2,200m from Hadnock to the regatta finish.

And there were a further 11 class wins for local rowers in the Monmouthshire Building Society-backed event, including the fastest women's sculler pennant for Monmouth Comprehensive School's European junior gold medallist Emily Richards.

With the Wye bathed in sunshine, Monmouth School's Under 17 quadruple scull Rory Freeman, Rory Booth, Harris Webb and Sam White set the fastest overall time by 3.7 seconds from King's School Worcester's U18 quad boat, covering the course in six minutes 55.9secs.

Monmouth School's U18 quad of boat club captain Louis Peace, Richard Strunk, Freddie Dewey and Archie Hilder placed fifth fastest overall in 7.08.1, just 2.9secs back on Cardiff City RC's U18 quad scull in fourth.

Monmouth Comprehensive's Ben Metcalfe, David Newman, James Johnston and Henry Edwards took the Intermediate 3 quads title in 7.14.0, while Wales cap clubmate Ollie Pearce teamed up with Ross McCoard to land the U18 doubles crown by 6.2secs from King's Worcester in 7.43.4.

It was a case of the pupils showing the master the way home as Monmouth School's Harry Bridges, Tom Sell, Charlie Price, Fergus Walsh and cox James Bazley placed second fastest overall in coxed fours in 7.56.3, eight seconds up on their coach Robin Fletcher in his Ross RC veteran-winning crew.

Their schoolmates Josh Gibson and Freddie Dewey landed the U18 pairs title in 8.10.2 by 10 seconds from King's Worcester, while the novice coxed four raced home in a creditable 8.23.1.

Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls' Pippa England, Aoife Gray, Amelia Baldwin, Sarah Dobbie and cox Catherine Finch set the fastest women's coxed four time of the day, closing down their clubmates starting one place in front by just two seconds to take the IM3 title in 8.28.9.

Fresh from European team gold in the GB junior quadruple scull in France, Monmouth Comprehensive's Emily Richards showed she intends to be on the plane to the world junior championships in Rio de Janeiro next summer by setting the women's sculls benchmark of 8.32.1 to take the U18 class and the overall singles pennant.

The HMSG girls U18 pair of Charlotte Gill and Emma Richardson led schoolmates Pippa and Aoife home by 14  seconds to set the fastest two-oared time of 8.38.4.

But GB U16 and Wales junior cap Pippa was second fastest women's singler taking the girls' U17 crown in 8.54.3, and Charlotte won a close-run women's IM3 class by just 1.5 seconds from pairs partner Emma in 9.11.0, with a Monmouth RC sculler less than a second back in third.

It was even closer in women's IM3 double sculls as Monmouth RC's Naomi Clarke and Hope Henry edged the class by just half a second from Stoke club Trentham in 8.50.4.

Monmouth School's Oliver Jones took boys' U15 singles in 9.25.4, while Monmouth Comprehensive's Lauren Waycott won the girls' equivalent in 10.12.6.