HRH Princess Royal meets the next generation of seafood lovers at Bingley Grammar School

The Fishmongers Company Fisheries Charitable Trust and Food Teachers centre‘Fish in School Hero’ programme aims to ensure that every child gets a chance toprepare, cook and eat fish before they leave school, developing the next generationof seafood lovers. The programme aims to train secondary food teachers to be confident in preparingand cooking fish with students in their classrooms. Teachers are supported bylocal heroes: fishmongers, fish-loving chefs and fish suppliers, as well as otherheroes who will be coming into schools to talk first-hand about their role in bringingseafood from the sea to the plate, highlighting careers and opportunities in the fishindustry. The programme launched here at Bingley Grammar School in November 2019 andsaw Year 9 and 10 Food and Nutrition, Hospitality and catering students  get handson with fish and learn from Simon Gray the Fish In Schools Hero programmemanager. For many students this was the first time they had touched, let alonecooked  fish. Now in its fourth year, the programme is back at Bingley Grammar School to launchthis year’s Mussel Power initiative. Offshore Shellfish have kindly donated twotonnes of rope grown mussels to the programme for the last 3 years reaching over24000 students nationwide. Through “Mussel Power” this year 8000 students in 200 hundred schools across the country will get the opportunity to cook and taste sensational freshly cooked dishes made with British mussels. The student chefs will be busy practising how to prepare and cook sustainable fresh fish, and they will be learning how mussels are rope-grown and harvested sustainably and provide key nutrients. Most of these students have never eaten mussels before.The Food and Nutrition Department were delighted today to welcome Simon and the Fish in Hero’s team back to Bingley Grammar school for another superb workshop. We were also honoured  to welcome Her Royal Highness Princess Anne on her first visit to Bingley Grammar School. During the visit her Royal Highness had an opportunity to see our students prepare and cook a number of dishes which highlight how important this initiative is for students and teachers alike.  Throughout the last four years our students at KS4 have benefited from numerous deliveries of high quality seafood.  We have been able to make lots of new skilled fish dishes, such as salmon and sweet chilli parcels, fish cakes, and garlic mussels. It is not just the students who have benefited from this amazing initiative  As teachers we have also had training to further develop our skills and confidence teaching students about fish and seafood. The programme has been vital for our students to gain hands-on experience and provided them with an opportunity to cook with ingredients they might not use at home. Today we will be proudly showcasing what our students have learned and what the fantastic impact joining such an initiative has had on our staff and students alike. The work students have showcased today truly echoes the school ethos of Belong Grow and Succeed. We were delighted to meet HRH and very proud to be part of this initiative, proud of our students and thankful for the support all the above organisations have provided. 

 

Here is what the Fishmongers' Company had to say Fishmongers Company Press Release