I can't begin to tell you the impact that Will has made on Fishing for Schools, me, and the entire team. Will’s enthusiasm and belief in what we are doing is a beacon for all of us to follow. I am so glad that he is part of what we are trying to achieve. Read his article below to find out more.
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The relentless summer heat and record-breaking dry weather across much of the United Kingdom over the summer put an end to most anglers' fishing ambitions. But in gaps in the weather and an improving picture through August, Charles and I managed a day at my beautiful local lake. Between the endless bream we sat, we chatted and we plotted.
I probably don’t need to repeat this here, but Fishing for Schools is a remarkable organisation. It does work that is absolutely essential for the young people that benefit from its programme. The four sessions, sometimes more, can act as a lifeline for pupils.
I am in the fortunate position in that I have seen first-hand the profound impact that it can have on the boys and girls who are enrolled. The pure joy when they hook into their first trout and the beaming smile in their photos home to their parents.
Fishing for Schools has had a profound impact on me, too. The programme has reinvigorated my career in the classroom, sharpening the focus of my practice and making me consider carefully how it is that pupils learn. But, also, what it is that they should learn.
In many ways I’d describe myself as a passionate teacher. I love it and I love my subjects. I’m also a passionate countryman and I love fishing, but also foraging, looking at hedges, watching birds, walking and being out in all weathers. The countryside in its extraordinary forms.
The work that Charles and his Fishing for Schools team have done to develop a high quality, rigorous and challenging but inclusive qualification in Angling and the Countryside allows me to now teach the countryside. It aligns my passions.
In my politics class I often tell the pupils that with any new government the political weather changes. It is no different now, the prevailing winds of change are picking up, and they utter the word ‘vocational’.
The qualification, without hyperbole, is now essential.
The future of our countryside, our environment, and perhaps even our planet, demands that we get this moment right. It demands that we get this qualification right so that we can equip our young people with the expertise, knowledge and care for the countryside and their environment to go into the uncertain future ahead with the knowledge, the clarity, and the confidence to solve the many problems that we will face.
Yes, we need plumbers, builders and chefs, but we also need farmers, river keepers, conservationists and countryside advocates.
That is what this qualification has the potential to deliver, and that is what drives everyone working on it forward. The future of our green and pleasant (and watery!) land.
I like to think that one day the students I’ve taught politics to for many years will feel compelled to change the world. Maybe one will be the PM.
In a few years' time, I like to think that maybe the pupils that I taught Angling and the Countryside to will as well. I hope so.