Chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall dishes out school meal awards

The award ceremony will take place at the organic farm and eco conference centre Sheepdrove on the 2 December 2009. It's no mean feat for a school to set up an organic school garden, run growing and cooking clubs, organise regular visits to local farms, serve freshly prepared school dinners with local, seasonal and organic ingredients -- and include parents and the local community in it all! But that is exactly what more than 1,400 Food for Life Partnership schools are doing across the country. Gold schools actively involve parents and community groups in cooking and growing activity. School meals are at least 75% freshly prepared, 50% local and 30% organic, and more than 70% of pupils are choosing to eat school meals. Every pupil learns to cook and has the opportunity to grow food, and groups of pupils are actively involved in the life of a local farm. Silver schools serve school meals on plates, not flight trays, and a range of locally sourced and organic items are served. All chicken, bacon and sausages served are Freedom Food certified or free range and no fish from unsustainable sources is served. The school has a cooking club, and pupils get to cook with and eat the produce grown in the school growing area. Parents and the wider community get involved in food education via food-themed events. Hugh Fearnley-Whittin stall explained why he decided to get involved: "What makes this project so inspiring is the way that young people in more than a thousand schools are now learning about real food in a hands-on way, growing and cooking it themselves and even rearing their own chickens. I would urge the Government to do more to encourage all schools to follow their lead." Emma Noble, director of the Food for Life Partnership added: "These schools show what real 21st century education is all about, which is using real life experiences to teach the curriculum and providing the next generation with solutions to what threatens their future, namely climate change and the obesity crisis." Gold schools: St John the Baptist School – London St John's CE VA Primary School – Somerset St Katherine's School - North Somerset Silver schools: St Wilfrid's Catholic High School and Sixth Form College – Yorkshire Fairford C of E Primary School Primary School – Gloucestershire Crondall Primary School – Hampshire Eastwood Comprehensive School – Nottingham Oldfield Park Infant School – Bath Chestnuts Primary School – London Surrey Square Infant and Junior School – London Twerton Infant School - Bath