Since Matthew Webb swam the Channel in August 25, 1875, many have crossed the same stretch of water - some shattering others records.

A group of young relay swimmers from The Gregg School completed the 28 mile swim in 10 hours, 50 minutes and 54 seconds, knocking more than two hours and twenty minutes off the old record.

The national Junior Mixed Schools record had stood for 10 years before they completed their race race between Shakespeare Beach at Dover to a location near Calais.

The team were led by physical education teacher Mary Collett, who was herself an experienced cross channel swimmer.

At the time, the team was the first from Hampshire to successfully attempt the swim.

Each child was in the water for an hour and averaged a distance of two and a half miles each shift.

Although the swim was successful, it wasn’t without it’s problems. Four hours into the swim, 15-year-old Kathryn Spellerberg had to battle her way through a shoal of jellyfish, before contending with oil and seaweed which covered the surface of the water.

But the youngsters from Gregg School weren’t the only local cross channel swimmers to rewrite history.

In September 1991, a group of Hampshire women, including Katherine Spellerberg from the Greggs team, became the first ever all-female breast-stroke relay from Dover to Calais. They were also the year’s fastest relay team.

The team crossed in 14 hours and 39 minutes, beginning at 7:30pm and swimming through the night. They attached fluorescent light sticks to their clothing to ensure they could be seen.

Kathryn once again swam through an oil slick, whilst most of the team experienced debris and seaweed.