Best Practice

Chefs in Schools: A school food revolution

School food Pupil wellbeing Whole-school issues
What do your pupils eat at lunch and what impact does it have on them? Hilary Priest explains the journey that has revolutionised the quality of meals and so much more at The Grove Primary School
Cooking up a storm: Acclaimed chef Marco Pilloni (pictured below) arrived at The Grove Primary School via the Chefs in Schools initiative and has transformed the school menu (images: supplied)

I have been headteacher at The Grove School for nearly 17 years. It is a local authority maintained school in Totnes, Devon. 

Totnes is well known for having a “foodie” culture with many coffee shops, unique food providers, and a sensational food market. It is also known for being a little unusual at times (often likened to a lesser Glastonbury), but also for embracing everyone from every culture and background.

Totnes has the usual make up of any semi-rural town with many housing association tenants, lots of low-paid employment (in those coffee shops), quite a lot of unemployment, and higher levels of free school meals than you’d think.

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