07 July 2025
Congratulations to the three Food for Life schools who have been recognised for their achievements, food education and kindness, at the annual The Jamie Oliver Group Good School Food Awards last week.
🥇 Colleen Green, Beacon Primary School, Walsall - 2025 This Morning's Lifetime Achievement Award
🎓 Sara Randle, Sir William Stanier School Crewe – 2025 Food Educator of the Year
🫂 Alex Moody, Park Community School, Havant - 2025 Food Kindness Hero
It's brilliant to see Colleen’s hard work recognised with such a prestigious award as the school's commitment to lasting change for the pupils and their families is inspiring!
As part of Walsall's Food for Life programme, over the years Beacon Primary School have built knowledge, skills and capacity and embedded a positive food culture through numerous activities, including; a cooking club for parents to join in, growing spaces run by the pupils, and cooking sessions celebrating diversity of cuisines throughout International Week.
The school is now a part of a much bigger food movement Food for Life is working on with Walsall Public Health to support every aspect of the Walsall Food Plan, creating a new vision for good food across the area. We’re excited to continue supporting them with their growing and cooking activity and celebrating the role that Beacon and other Food for Life schools play in Walsall's changing food environment.
Jenine Hadley, Local Programme Manager, Food for Life Walsall.
Sara is a committed Food for Life leader and educator, going above and beyond to achieve the Food for Life Foundation Award last year. Sara fully understands the importance of food education and how much a positive food culture can impact young people, building up skills for life. The school's annual visits to farms have enabled the students to learn about the daily life of a farmer, the process of rearing dairy and beef farms, crop rotation, seasonality, and irrigation. This year they have visited four farms so far, building on their knowledge of food provision and where it comes from.
"'I am extremely proud to have won the Jamie Oliver Good School Food Awards 2025 Food Educator of the Year! The Food for Life Awards were a big influence, helping us focus on whole school food provision and strengthen the link between our canteen and food curriculum. The award also inspired us to take the leap into growing our own produce—something we’d long considered but finally made happen. Many of the criteria we were already meeting, and the award process helped us to celebrate and reinforce the great work that was already taking place across our school. Both awards are helping to ensure that food is recognised as a highly valued subject within our school and the wider community, raising its profile and importance in education and everyday life.'
Sara Randle - Sir Willaim Stanier School - Crewe
Alex and the team at Park Community Secondary are a shining example of how powerful food can be in creating incredible connections and bringing people together. Achieving a Food for Life Gold Award with his school back in 2017, shows a level of excellence in service, ingredients used, culture and community that excels the norm.
Our mission at Food for Life has always been to help change food for good by ensuring access to healthy and sustainable food for everyone. It’s so powerful to see that 50% of the winners from this year’s Jamie Oliver’s GSF awards are Food for Life schools taking a whole school approach, highlighting the impact of year-round commitment and a holistic approach to a positive food culture. It's shows us that good food goes beyond the canteen - it's about what's taught in the classroom, what's grown in the garden, and the experiences children have tasting and exploring new food