CHEPSTOW'S Laurence Harvey, 19, will be donning dark blue after being selected for the 2013 Oxford squad for the annual university boat race.

Mr Harvey, a former pupil of Monmouth School, is currently reading for a BA Physics at St HughÕs College, University of Oxford.

The keen rower, who weighs 8st 11lbs, was recently selected for the Oxford crew which could see him compete in the 159th BNY Mellon Boat Race in London on Sunday, March 31 at 4.30pm.

Crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge first battled it out on the water in1829 in Henley on Thames following a challenge between old school friends.

Since the second race in 1836 the contest has taken place in London.

The Boat Race in one of the oldest sporting events in the world and is watched by thousands of people alongside the banks of the River Thames between Putney and Mortlake, with millions more people watching on TV around the world. Cambridge has won the boat race 81 times compared to Oxford's 76 wins, with one dead-heat in 1877.

Monmouth School were delighted to hear the news and said it was a fantastic achievement for both Mr Harvey and the school itself.

The school already has an international reputation for rowing with several Olympic medallists and coaches, including Robin Williams who coached the GB women's pair into the record books at London 2012, plus several GB oarsmen amongst its past and present pupils.