The Director's Update, August 2025

Late Summer and the living is almost easy…..  

With a new school year peeking around the corner, it is easy to fall into that trap of endless summer relaxation: "well, the term hasn’t started just yet, there is still time to just have that final trip, fishing session, weekend break.” Any excuse just to ease out the sense of holiday before “it” starts all over again.

And yet, as bewitching as fishing can be, especially during the long summer holidays, there is a small price to pay.

Only recently we have had a stark reminder of the need to have a fishing licence (In England and Wales when fishing in freshwater) with David Lammy, our Foreign Secretary, managing to avoid the hefty fine for fishing without one… (please, don’t ask! ) …with just a warning.

But if you can possibly see the logic in “you’ll need to get a junior licence for children aged between 13 and 16. Junior licences are free.” Then please let me know, why not just let kids under 16 go fish… odd.

Also, can we PLEASE have the lovely actual licence cards back! David Miller’s evocative art was a thing to treasure, and of course a physical licence is tangible proof of actually having one - a couple of “wins” there.

There is of course another glorious anomaly - a licence does not let you fish anywhere. So all this licence procedure does, is to let you be in a possession of a rod – with intent!

On the credit side, let us hope that the 22 million plus pounds, which is poured into angling coffers from licence funding, does in fact fight pollution and develop the various residual benefits that we know angling encompasses.

For the record, we at Fishing for Schools have not seen a penny from that source. In many ways this, I think, is a good thing. We maintain our unique independence as do other elements of the Countryside Alliance, and this allows us to be bold, brave and venture into areas that few dare to address.

The role of Fishing for Schools is both practical (take kids fishing) and evangelical, (get more people fishing). We know from experience that we have the ability to alter young people’s perceptions of the countryside. We know that we open their eyes to the natural possibilities which are out there. We know this, because we assiduously maintain a record of what we do – we can, in a heartbeat, identify success, the odd failure (and that is important), and maintain a “tight ship”. As a responsible charity we would expect nothing else.

We know, too, that in some cases this might alter young peoples (and not so young) approach to education; regenerating and sparking an interest in key and core learning and perhaps even addressing absenteeism. Big issues: with massive impacts….all because of angling.

So, with that new term waving at us just a few days away, we address the coming year with innovation – more of which you will hear about later – a celebration of young people with a reception in Westminster in the Autumn, a new approach to coaching and emphasis placed on that vital facet – the wellbeing and safety of the people in our care.

We believe, at Fishing for Schools, that every person we come into contact with is worth our best and most caring efforts, irrespective. A mantra as true now, as it was eighteen years ago.