Summerhayes Juniors Family Fun Day – Saturday 8 August

Summerhayes Juniors is a volunteer-led junior angling club based at Summerhayes Fisheries, near Bridgwater. We provide free, accessible angling coaching for children and young people, with all fishing tackle, bait and equipment supplied by the club.

Our regular junior club takes place every Wednesday evening, and our sessions are delivered by qualified, DBS-checked coaches who are trained in safeguarding and first aid. Our aim is to ensure that cost, experience or personal circumstances never prevent a young person from having the opportunity to experience angling.

However, our work goes far beyond teaching children how to fish. Angling provides a calm and supportive outdoor environment where young people can build confidence, patience, resilience, friendships and practical skills. It also helps children spend time away from screens, connect with nature and enjoy positive time with their parents or carers.

Over the past year, we have introduced and coached more than 500 children through our club sessions, schools programmes, community events and partnership projects. We have worked with local schools, Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership, the Angling Trust, Somerset Youth Justice Team and other community organisations throughout Somerset.

We support complete beginners as well as young anglers who wish to progress into competitive fishing. Young people connected with our programmes have competed at regional and national events, represented England and achieved success in major junior angling competitions.

Alongside our weekly sessions, we provide structured courses covering different angling methods, junior matches, family events, school coaching days and opportunities for children who may benefit from additional support. We are also working towards creating a dedicated Centre of Excellence for angling in Somerset—a permanent, inclusive facility focused on coaching, education, conservation, wellbeing and youth development.