Year 10 become Fish Heroes

Last Friday saw two lucky classes of Year 10 pupils at the Boys School receive a visit from Simon Gray, from the Fish in Schools Hero programme. Simon delivered a fun, informative workshop that equipped the boys with the knowledge of how to prepare and cook fish. The GCSE Food and Nutrition pupils involved had a brilliant time gaining new knowledge and skills. These will be highly useful not only for their Non-Examined Assessment next year but also in wherever their cooking skills might take them in the future.

Fish in Schools Hero is a programme free for schools, delivered by a partnership between the Food Teachers Centre and the Fishmongers’ Company’s Fisheries Charitable Trust. The programme aims to give pupils in schools the chance to prepare, cook and eat fish. It also aims to educate pupils on the health benefits of fish and help them to gain a greater insight into how seafood gets from the sea to their plates. It also encourages pupils to eat fish at least twice a week.  Simon, who delivered the programme, has extensive experience as a teacher as well as having providing catering at large events such as Henley Regatta, Wimbledon and PGA Golf tours – an excellent source of knowledge and expertise for our pupils to learn from.

Learning was certainly the order of the day, as Simon taught the pupils about fishing quotas, sustainable fishing and different fishing methods. Meanwhile, a wide array of beautiful fish – which Berkhamsted received free of charge as part of the programme – was laid out on the bench in front of Simon. He was soon showing the pupils each fish in turn, telling them how they are sourced and how best to prepare them.

The pupils got the opportunity to see how everything from mackerel to hake, squid to mussels are prepared for their plates before doing some cooking of their own. In pairs, the pupils filleted and cooked delicious, pan-fried gurnard fillets with a chorizo and chickpea ragu. Not only did this experience help them supplement their knowledge in preparation and presentation for their Non-Examined Assessment (a crucial part of their Food and Nutrition GCSE) but they all got to take home a portion of the meal they had prepared too – a welcome bonus!

In addition to the programme for the pupils, Simon also delivered a free masterclass on Saturday 4^th March for nineteen Food and Nutrition teachers from various schools in the Midlands and Southeast. This helped to provide teachers with extra knowledge and specialised insight which they can then make good use of when delivering lessons to pupils.

Both sessions were a great success, with plenty of knowledge passed on and enthusiasm shown. A big thank you to Simon, the Fish in Schools Hero team, the Food Teachers Centre and the Fishmongers’ Company’s Fisheries Charitable Trust. We’re looking forward to seeing how Berkhamsted pupils and staff use all they have learned from the sessions in the future.