KEEN young anglers in the west of the district are being given a hands-on approach to learning about the life cycle of a salmon.

For juniors at Haltwhistle and District Angling Association and pupils at the town’s Community Campus Upper School were given 200 eggs from Kielder Salmon Centre to monitor how the fish grow.

The eggs are currently being kept in a rearing tank at the school during the project, which is being funded jointly by the Angling Trust and Environment Agency.

The children will set the tank up to replicate the natural habitat for salmon eggs, and will take it in turns to monitor the temperature to ensure it is stable for the fish. After rearing the eggs, the baby salmon, known as fry, will be released into the River South Tyne, at Haltwhistle.

Dave Munt, the North-East regional officer for the Angling Trust, said: “It is a massive thing getting youngsters interested in the environment. The great sport of angling is being promoted, while it is great from an education point of view too.

“Informing children on how the salmon grow from an egg, is such a positive thing for youngsters to see as they don’t usually get the chance to these days.”

The junior anglers meet at the school every Tuesday evening, and David Sanderson, who runs the club with his wife Carole, was delighted to have the support of the school.

He said: “It’s brilliant to see the enthusiasm of the children and that is why we do this. It’s nice to get the children involved, and the eggs they are getting in they will hopefully be catching in a few years time!”

Haltwhistle Community Campus has likewise been impressed with the salmon project, and is part of its goal in becoming a community school.

Upper School headteacher Paul Sampson said: “Education isn’t just about reading and writing, but about bringing the school to life.”