Portland School are in a class of their own

Two squads of young pupils from Portland Comprehensive School in Worksop, Nottinghamshire competed in the Schools National Championships that took place recently at Roy Marlow’s Glebe Fishery in Leicestershire, where the ‘A’ squad failed by just one point to secure back-to-back wins after taking the team championship title in 2004.

At the formal presentation they had to settle for the runners-up position behind Minsthorpe Comprehensive who are one of the most successful teams competing in these prestigious championships.

However, the 'A' and 'B' squads did secure some magnificent individual placings - with five out of the top ten individual places - resulting in Thomas Davenport taking the Under 14’s individual title with over 30lb of fish, supported by section winners Jason Goulding, Kyle Moor, Nathan Parry, Nathan Bierton.


The current group of Portland pupils accompanied by Glyn Williams, David Kent, Ken Stevenson, Paul Buck and Jane Pickersgill (classroom assistant)

For the past five years pupils from the school have been attending a series of ‘extra curriculum’ angling activities delivered by National Federation of Anglers (NFA) coaches Glyn Williams and Ken Stevenson, who have been delivering the NFA Kingfisher Award Scheme.

For the past two years Ken has been running the scheme on his own due to the full-time work commitments of Glyn in his then role as the NFA Angling Development Officer. However, these roles have now been reversed as Ken has found it necessary to stand down to concentrate on his own full-time role as a County Counsellor and he has handed the coaching responsibility back over to Glyn, who is now on a reduced contract with the NFA and has already started delivering sessions at the school in preparation for the 2006 School Championships.

Over the past five years the school squads have done remarkably well by achieving team bronze, team silver, team gold, team silver, plus the individual champion on two occasions.

The two squads of young anglers are sponsored by local tackle shops, Worksop Angling Supplies and Ken Ward Sports who provide some of their bait on the day of the championships.

To commemorate Ken Stevenson’s achievements the school has presented him with a special trophy - a magnum of champagne plus a box of chocolates for his wife Christine.

To add more credibility to the schools involvement with the sports governing body, further awards have been presented as a direct result of the East Midland Region of the NFA nominating the school as the most successful team and Ken Stevenson as the most successful coach in Nottinghamshire as part of the last Nottingham City Sporting Awards Presentations.

Although neither of them were successful on this occasion, the school received a certificate of recognition and Ken went on to be nominated for the NFA East Midland Region Award for his services to angling.

Secretary of the NFA East Midland Region, David Kent recently attended Portland School to make the formal presentation to head teacher Paul Buck and to Ken Stevenson.

Also in attendance was Derek Brown, secretary of Worksop & District Anglers Association (WDAA) who also support the Portland Kingfishers scheme.

Pictured left (l/r): Derek Brown, Head teacher Paul Buck, David Kent and Ken Stevenson

Glyn Williams is seen receiving a bottle of champagne plus a box of chocolates for his wife Anne to show the schools appreciation for the support that he has given to both Ken Stevenson and to Portland School.

Notable Quotes:
Portland head teacher Paul Buck states, “Angling has played a very important role in bringing the school and the community together.The recent successes in the Schools National Championship have been wonderful achievements for the team and their coaches Ken and Glyn.

“It was in the year 2000 when Glyn, in his then capacity as the Senior Coach of the NFA East Midland Region, approached me with a view of getting angling on the school curriculum as a ‘pilot’ project to deliver their Kingfisher Award Scheme throughout the Bassetlaw region. Having listened to what was involved in this magnificent project I was more than delighted to give my support to the scheme as an extra curriculum activity''.

“For the following two years Glyn and Ken attended the school on a weekly basis delivering their coaching skills with Ken working on his own during the past two academic years. The Kingfisher scheme involves Water Craft, Environment Awareness and Fish Biology and the attitudes that the scheme generates has led to our continued success.''

''Angling is getting stronger and stronger at the school and I would hope that other schools will take the opportunity to develop similar projects giving more power to the NFA and it’s willingness to engage positively with young people from all backgrounds of the community.”


Co-sponsors
A delighted Greg Forrester (Worksop Angling Supplies) states “The success of both the squad and the individuals are testament to the input, time and effort put in through the NFA coaching scheme with special mention to Ken Stevenson and Glyn Williams who are delivering the NFA Kingfisher Award Scheme. I am proud to have had the opportunity to offer my support for the 2004 and 2005 championships and will continue to do so on future occasions”.

Fellow sponsor Ken Ward (Ken Ward Sports) says, “I am proud of Portland’s achievement in the Schools National Championship, they continue to provide encouragement to other youngsters in the area to take up angling. I am also delighted to have had the opportunity to contribute to the team’s success by giving encouragement and provision of part of their bait”.

Ken Stevenson:
The final quote is left to the retiring but elated team coach, Ken Stevenson, “In my capacity as an NFA Licensed Coach I have worked very closely with these youngsters for the last five years on different techniques in angling. The squad members are passionate about angling in all its forms and they have become completely dedicated to the team championships and the Kingfisher Scheme.''

“New talent is emerging at the school year upon year and under Glyn’s future guidance this will be nurtured to generate continued success on future occasions. From being novice entries in the School Championships when we first started they have now become the team to beat and all of the other teams get a feeling of satisfaction if they beat Portland - and that speaks volumes about how well they are respected on the circuit.''

“Once again I would like to express my thanks to Carr Vale Angling Club for their magnificent support in allowing us the use of their facilities for practicing, also to Gregg Forrester and Ken Ward for their sponsorship, to the head teacher Paul Buck and to the school governors for allowing the two teams to have the opportunity to continue enjoying the experience of competing against other schools.''

“If more schools throughout the country took the same lead as Portland Comprehensive social barriers would be broken down and relationships would be bonded at an early age”.

Yours in sport
Glyn Williams