Angling4Success is an outdoor educational project based in Bedford, focused mainly on fishing, falconry and forest skills in order to help steer young people across East Anglia towards further education, training or employment in the fishing/outdoor industries.
Ashley Phelan, 16, who attended the Angling4Success course from Mark Rutherford Upper School, simply needed a boost of confidence that would help him re-focus on his school work, ahead of taking his GCSEs.
During Ashley’s participation in the Angling4Success Fishing and Photography course, Terry Richardson, the Angling4Success Project Manager, recognized Ashley’s boundless enthusiasm for fishing and the potential for him to share his extensive knowledge with his peers. “From the moment he arrived on each session he was full of stories about which fish he had caught, using which methods and where. With this infectious enthusiasm, he would clearly be able to encourage younger peers to enjoy learning about fishing.”
Since then, he has successfully helped mentor younger anglers in school holidays with Angling4Success and, with support from Kye Jerrom and his regional Environment Agency team at Brampton, he is scheduled to complete the Level 1 Angling Coaching Course on 23rd January 2010. Upon completion, he is set to become the UK’s youngest angling coach at 16 years and 2 months.
After school, Ashley hopes to attend Shuttleworth College to take his passion further and achieve the BTEC National Diploma in Fish Husbandry before following a career in the fishing industry. Whilst at college, Angling4Success will welcome him to work part-time encouraging younger anglers in a similar direction.
