The Director's update, November 2026

November is, for me, one of the most exciting periods for Fishing for Schools.

Gone are the heady days of summer delivery – goodness knows it had its challenges this year, but we sailed through and delivered our special brand of angling education to another enthusiastic cohort of young people who will, we hope, carry that bright torch of fishing into the future.

Now we start again.

The schools' application period affords us that wonderful glimpse at friends both old and new, embracing new areas and revisiting a well-trodden path of success. It seems extraordinary to me that, despite an increasingly urbanised mindset creeping into all sectors of the community, there are still schools wanting to explore the great outdoors. And it is great!

Better still, the schools and academies have the presence of mind to allow their young people to explore the natural world from an entirely different perspective: to actually experience, breathe, touch – and occasionally get “messy” – in the magical world of the lakeside or riverbank.

Our mantra.

So onwards – but with stark knowledge of having a limited budget and what we absolutely know will be an oversubscribed list leading to inevitable disappointment for many.

If only we could batter the doors down of Westminster’s education department, put them all in a bus and have them visit the sessions that we deliver across the UK, to see for themselves the positivity which fizzes from those sessions and from the students, then life might be very different.

As it is, I am afraid, for the moment it is down to you and me to ensure we drive ever relentlessly forwards – and we shall.