Top chef Brian Turner to present schools with Food for Life Partnership Awards

The awarded schools are: Gold Chestnuts Primary School, Haringey, London Collaton St Mary, Paignton, Devon Crich Junior School, Matlock, Derbyshire Great Missenden C of E Combined Primary School, Buckinghamshire Farley Hill Primary School, Reading Takeley Primary School, Takeley, Hertfordshire Silver All Saints CEVC Primary, Bury St Edmonds Carshalton Boys Sports College, Carshalton, Surrey Cowes Primary, Isle of Wight Dereham Neatherd High School, Dereham, Norfolk Felsted Preparatory, Dunmow, Essex Heathwood Lower Shool, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire Howard Junior School, King's Lynn, Norfolk Nacton CEVC Primary School, Ipswich, Suffolk Nightingale First School, Norwich Singlegate Primary School, Colliers Wood, London St Edwards C of E Primary School, Romford, Essex St Peters CE Middle School, Old Windsor, Berkshire Thurston Community College, Bury St Edmonds, Suffolk Turner said: "These schools have proved that they are trailblazers for healthy food and practical food education in their regions. Children involved with the Food for Life Partnership are cooking, growing organic fruit and veg, visiting farms, sitting together to eat a good, wholesome meal, and they're taking these skills back to their families and the local community. "What better way to tackle obesity and other health issues as well as social cohesion? Food for Life Partnership schools are paving the way for a positive future for these children." Jeanette Orrey, school meals policy advisor for the Food for Life Partnership, emphasises how much has happened in the school food arena since she co-founded the original school food campaign with the Soil Association back in 2003. She said: "When we started campaigning for better school dinners we had no idea that more than 4,200 schools would have joined the campaign, and not only improve their school dinners, but also to embrace food education. We must make sure that all this good work carries on and that the Coalition Government makes a good, healthy and sustainable food culture in schools and their communities a priority." The initiative is funded by the Big Lottery Fund and led by the Soil Association.