NEWS EXCLUSIVE
One year after its launch, we hear from Reel Education coach Martyn Rafferty about the amazing impact it’s having at Jubilee School in Hampshire
AS THE rollout of the Angling Trust and Shakespeare’s Reel Education project gathers pace, positive feedback from schools and pupils alike is building. While it’s been a success with boys and girls of various ages in regular schools, however, it’s the scheme’s impact on those outside the mainstream that is the most striking.
For a great example, you need look no further than education specialist and angling coach, Martyn Rafferty. Bringing his love of angling directly into the classroom, he’s proving just how powerful the sport can be in reconnecting kids with their learning and life chances.
BUILDING THEIR CONFIDENCE
Having worked as a behavioural specialist in tough urban schools, Martyn is well versed in dealing with kids who haven’t responded well to mainstream education. With their colourful language and challenging behaviour, it’s all too easy to judge these youngsters, but he sees the potential that can be unlocked by a hobby like fishing.
“Teachers couldn’t believe the difference!” said Martyn, following sessions linking angling to subjects such as maths, science and art.
“All the students here have had difficult experiences in education, so having another way in is crucial. I went in to introduce myself and from day one I said I’d offer them something they would enjoy.”
This quickly developed into fun, angling-based activities, from identifying different fish species to PE-style games like magnet fishing. Tellingly, this led to pupils engaging with curriculum subjects like science and English in a way that had proved extremely tricky before.
“Their teachers were genuinely surprised,” said Martyn. “Some pupils had found just putting pen to paper hard, but every one of the group was willing to give it a go. They were doing things like using rulers to measure fish, completing worksheets and working together better, too. You could see their confidence building with every session – other staff were amazed!”
NEXT STEPS
Buoyed by these successes, Martyn saw further potential for his budding anglers. Quite quickly, colleagues at Jubilee were asking him about getting the kids on to the bank to put their new skills into practice.
Using the Angling Trust’s CAST awards, the youngsters not only gained knowledge, but a genuine sense of achievement.
Unsurprisingly, they were raring to go fishing and Martyn now regularly takes individuals and small groups out, se
