From the KES Pitches to the Atlantic: Zoe’s Journey

For many students, leaving KES marks the beginning of a structured path through university and into work. But for Zoe Henderson, the journey since leaving school has been anything but ordinary. It is a story defined by global travel, the rigours and camaraderie of military training, and an impending audacious attempt to row across the Atlantic Ocean as part of the “World’s Toughest Row”.

From Gap Year Wanderlust to University Discovery

Zoe’s plan on leaving KES was to spend her gap year coaching sport in New Zealand. When COVID-19 grounded those plans, she pivoted with characteristic resilience. A stint as a sports coach at Epsom College for the autumn term was followed by three months au pairing on the Ligurian coastline of Italy. From there, she flew straight to Central America, volunteering on a marine conservation project in Costa Rica, working on a coffee farm in Nicaragua, and backpacking through Mexico.

Returning to the UK to study Geography at Exeter University, Zoe expected her university experience to revolve around sport, and she secured spots in the BUCS hockey and netball teams. However, on the recommendation of a friend, she joined the University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC) discovering something that would ultimately define her future path. Here, she quickly found her tribe, spending far more weekends running around Dartmoor and learning basic military skills than attending university socials. Alongside basic military training, incredible experiences including rock climbing and sailing in Scotland, kayaking in Cyprus, alpine skiing in Austria and France and four weeks in the Dolomites all pushed her outside her comfort zone proving time and again that she was capable of far more than she ever imagined.

The Call of the Ocean: Joining the World's Toughest Row

The seed for her next massive adventure was planted in January 2025, while she sat in her van in Queenstown, New Zealand, following an eight-hour ice cream scooping shift. She called Zack, a friend made on an army skiing expedition, to chat about life and her idea to potentially return home to pursue a reserve commission and a PGCE.

Zack mentioned that if she returned, applied to do her PGCE at Oxford, and transferred to the Oxford University Officers’ Training Corps as a Second Lieutenant, she would be in with a shot at joining the team to take the Army’s Ocean Rowing boat, Rosie, across the Atlantic for the 2026 World’s Toughest Row. He needed a crew.

"I told him I’d never rowed, and I’d never get into Oxford, and I’d still need to pass the commissioning course - I thought it was almost impossible," she recalls.

Just seven months later, Zoe stood proudly on the parade square at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, having been commissioned into the Oxford University Officers’ Training Corps. Alongside this came a place at St Anne’s College to start her PGCE and seventeen intensive months of ocean rowing training.

Inside the Challenge: Life Aboard 'Rosie'

This December, the challenge truly begins. As a team of five, Zoe and her crewmates will row in relentless rotation: three hours on shift, followed by just two hours of rest, repeating this punishing cycle around the clock for roughly fifty days.

Out of the forty-odd boats attempting the crossing, their crew will be the only team of five taking part this year, marking a historic first for the Army. Life on the boat will be tough. The crew will cram into small cabins at either end to grab their two hours of sleep. During their "third hour on" rotation, time will be spent on vital personal and boat maintenance tasks such as making fresh water, preparing freeze dried food rations, cleaning the solar panels and checking the navigation systems. At least once a week, one of them will have to dive into the open ocean to scrub the underside of the boat to clear away barnacles.

"The idea of swimming in the middle of the Atlantic to cool off from the hot weather is something that particularly excites me!" says Zoe.

Rigorous Preparation

Since September 2025, training has dominated Zoe’s life alongside academic and military commitments. She has followed a gruelling five or six day schedule that includes strength work, speed-focused and endurance interval sessions, long weekly rows lasting between two and five hours and mandatory water qualifications, including first aid at sea, sea survival, and short-range radio operation. She has also completed in-depth medical training alongside technical courses in boat electrics, water-making, and structural repair. The team has spent 120 hours offshore practising shift rotations, emergency procedures, and navigation, including a lap around the Isle of Wight and coastal training blocks from Exmouth down to Falmouth and Dartmouth.

Motivation, Legacy, and Giving Back

Beneath the physical challenge lies a commitment to charitable causes. The team is raising funds for four charitable organisations: Big Moose (providing free mental health therapy and suicide prevention courses), Head Up (offering mental health support to military personnel and veterans), Pancreatic Cancer UK (funding vital research and support) and REACT (deploying small, quick-response teams after natural disasters worldwide).

Beyond fundraising, Zoe also hopes to inspire others who might struggle with self-belief. Having navigated dyslexia and found maths challenging during her KES years, she never dreamed she would pass Army Officer Selection or study at Oxford. Thanks to dedicated learning support at school and personal hard work, she achieved straight As at GCSE and knows just how far determination can take a person.

The challenge also holds an emotional significance. She completed her Mountain Leader Training with Lt Lily-Mae Fisher who was, at the time of her death in a tragic helicopter crash over Dartmoor in June this year, the UK’s only female serving Royal Navy Commando. Zoe says: “I hope that by competing this row I can continue her legacy and make her proud.”

Looking Ahead

The team flies to La Gomera on November 29th 2026, with the planned start date set for December 12th (weather and El Niño trade winds permitting). Once launched, they expect to spend 45 to 50 days at sea, all the time monitoring for potential hazards like capsizes or marlin strikes while surrounded by the vast isolated expanse of the Atlantic. We wish them the very best of luck.

If you would like to follow their journey, support their chosen charities, or learn more about the World's Toughest Row expedition, visit their team channels at:

Donation Link: https://gvwhl.com/LZBHE

Follow Zoe's progress at: https://www.instagram.com/forceatlantic?igsi=cmU4ZnVuNDhlMTRy