West Midlands schools celebrate Bronze and Silver awards
8 December 2011 – Twenty-eight schools in the West Midlands celebrated their fantastic achievements in delivering practical food education and healthy school meals to children at three award ceremonies in November.
Eleven schools in Shropshire, nine schools in Warwickshire, three schools in Birmingham and six schools in Solihull have proved that they are traiblazers in healthy food education. Awarded the Bronze or SIlver Food for Life Partnership award, the schools have started to serve seasonal school meals with 75% of the dishes being freshly prepared by a very well-trained school cook. Pupils and parents are involved in planning improvements to school menus and the dining experience, and every pupil has the opportunity to visit a farm, cook and grow fruit and veg during his or her time at school.
There are currently 512 schools enrolled on the Food for Life Partnership in the West Midlands, of which 53 have Bronze, 10 have Silver and three have Gold.
Shire Services, Warwickshire County Council and Solihull Caterers cater for many of the schools in their respective regions. Shire Services has the Silver Food for Life Catering Mark, and Warwickshire has the Bronze Food for Life Catering Mark.
The Food for Life Catering Mark is an award which offers a step-by-step route to providing freshly prepared, locally produced, seasonal and organic food. Open to caterers in all sectors, the Catering Mark has three tiers: bronze, silver and gold, with the bronze award requiring the caterer’s menu to be 75% freshly prepared, free from controversial additives and seasonal.
The schools celebrating in Shropshire were:
Church Preen Primary School, Church Stretton
Welshampton CofE Primary School (Silver), Ellesmere
Trinity C of E Primary School, Shrewsbury
Claverley Primary School (Silver), Claverley
Burnwood Community Primary School (flagship), Stoke on Trent
The Thomas Adams High School (flagship), Wem
Clunbury C E Aided Primary School, Craven Arms
Clive C.E. Primary School, Grinshill
Broadlands Primary, Hereford
Sundorne Infants School, Shrewsbury
Woodlands Primary, Wem
The schools celebrating in Warwickshire were:
Coten End Primary, Warwick
Leamington Hastings Infant, Leamington Hastings
Austrey CE, Austrey
St Mary's Catholic Primary, Studley
Brownsover Community Infant, Rugby
St Giles Junior, Coventry
Bidford on Avon C of E Primary, Bidford on Avon
Clifton Upon Dunsmore C of E Primary, Rugby
Newdigate Primary, Bedworth
The schools celebrating in Birmingham were:
Timberley Primary, Brimingham
St Bernadettes RC Primary, Yardley (Silver)
Bartley Green High School, Birmingham
Cheswick Green Primary, Solihull
Cranmore Infant School, Solihull
Coppice Junior Schoool, Solihull
Castle Bromwich Infant School, Solihull
Streetsbrook School, Shirley
Blossomfield Infant School, Solihull