For those who may not be aware Fishing 4 Schools is an organisation setup by Charles Jardine in association with The Countryside Alliance. The scheme aims to not only increase the awareness of our sport for young people, but also bring fishing into education.
Children learn valuable practical skills, as well as academic skills such as literacy and numeracy, all whilst fishing. Fishing 4 Schools also have their own qualifications which young people can achieve whilst on the programme; these include an ASDAN qualification and a COPE award: this is a unique and fantastic qualification, and is embraced by all proactive schools.
Through the great work Fishing 4 Schools does all over the country, with a network of skilled coaches driven by Charles Jardine's enthusiasm for the sport, the future of angling for the next generation is in great hands. Please have a look at the Fishing 4 Schools website to get more information about this awesome organisation, and see how you can help:
http://www.countryside-alliance.org/the-foundation/fishingforschools/
On Thursday 5th October Lenwade Pike Club hosted a Fishing 4 Schools Open Day. As part of Angling Direct’s sponsorship with the East Anglian Region of Fishing 4 Schools it was only right that we had "hands on" involvement, so we sent Hassan to help with the day.
The day was co-ordinated by Charles Jardine and Sally Acloque, along with a wealth of help from both Lenwade Pike Club Members and Fishing 4 Schools East Anglia Coaches. The aim of the day was to promote the work of Fishing 4 Schools to local schools and get them involved in the programme.
The stunning back drop of the lake along with marquees and seating areas was all arranged and organised so that each school could arrive and instantly be registered and off exploring both the countryside and a host of different angling activities. The schools rotated around various activities including fly casting, entomology (that’s pond dipping to you and me), cooking, predator fishing (with Hassan), coarse fishing and fly tying. There was a really great atmosphere around the lake; this was a combination of enthusiasm from all involved along with the excitement of both pupils and staff upon arrival.
The schools which attended included:
The Edward Worlledge Ormiston Academy
Kings Edward VII Academy Kings Lynn
The Clare School Norwich
The Fred Nicholson School Dereham
Taverham High School
Each school sent a variety of different pupils which had varying amounts of angling experience including total beginners who had never seen fishing before. There were also children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities that were all catered for exceptionally by the coaches.
The children moved round each activity in thirty minute slots, supervised by staff and volunteers. The entomology station was most informative, and children not only got to sample the various different water born bugs and creepy crawlies, but also got to try to tie a fly with fur and feather to represent them.
Charles Jardine ran a cooking masterclass; in the spirit of Mary Berry he took a rainbow trout from its just-caught state to a Michelin star meal, all whilst leaving the children amazed and watery mouthed.
Hassan talked through all things predator fishing, including lure fishing, dropshotting and dead baiting. The children particularly enjoyed being able to cast lures and trying to snare a pike or two, with some success in the afternoon.
The children plucked roach, skimmers and perch galore from the lake whilst the ever-popular coaches watched and talked them through plumbing, feeding and unhooking fish. Next door on the tennis courts ran fly casting tuition which went down a storm thanks to the expert work of the coaches.
The day ran like clockwork and in the afternoon after a lovely lunch (thank you Sally) the children were interviewed by BBC East Anglia who covered the event. As the day drew to a close the children's enthusiasm had not diminished - if anything their thirst to want to do more fishing had grown. It’s amazing what catching a few roach, dropshotting for perch/pike and learning to cast a fly line can do.
A massive thanks to Charles, Sally, Lenwade Pike Club and all the coaches and volunteers that helped on the day. Lastly a huge thank you to the schools for having the proactive nature to get involved; it will be great to see more schools in the future following their example and integrating Fishing 4 Schools into their own schools. We at Angling Direct look forward to being involved again.
