Rhyl school kids gain their Level 1 Cast Award with F4S

Pupils from Rhyl High School attained their Angling Trust Level 1 CAST awards on Monday as part of a year-long Fishing 4 Schools project being run at Llandegla Fishery.

The students, who are aged 12 and 13, learnt a wide variety of topics, from fish biology to knots and the Countryside Code as part of the award, which is designed to encourage youngsters to become responsible anglers.

Instructor Paul Ainsworth, who has worked with the children since September, said: "The important thing about Fishing 4 Schools is getting the children out in the countryside and fishing. They learn about things they have probably never thought about before, like responsibility for the tackle, the safety of themselves and their classmates and respect for the fish. I hope to get some of them through the CAST Level 2 award before the end of the year.

"All they want to do when they get to the fishery is get the rods out and start fly-fishing but I try to teach them a little bit of theory before we go outside. Next month we shall be studying fish anatomy, so we will catch a fish, dissect it to look at the fins and internal organs and then we will cook it on the barbeque and have it for lunch."

Fishing 4 Schools, which is funded by The Countryside Alliance Foundation, offers short courses that integrate fishing into the National Curriculum to children who would otherwise not have the opportunity to try it.