Sir John Moore School in Appleby Magna is one of four to have become Food for Life Gold schools.

Commissioned by Leicestershire County Council, Food for Life's award programme is a benchmark for school food quality and excellence in food education, where schools can be awarded foundation, bronze, silver and gold for their efforts.

Schools achieving a Gold award have at least 75 per cent of their menu freshly prepared from unprocessed ingredients, produce seasonal menus and work to actively engage parents and the wider community in their cooking and growing activities.

Of the seven schools across the country who have a gold award from Food for Life, four are in Leicestershire.

The schools - Thorpe Acre Infants, Arnesby Primary School and Westfield Infants School – as well as Sir John Moore - have worked to increase pupils' healthy food consumption and reduce food waste by making the most of the food they grow and buy.

Sir John Moore School has worked with local food producers and businesses.

It has included pupils getting the opportunity to understand the importance of bees as pollinators and how the honey they produce can be used in school recipes.

Pupils from Thorpe Acre Infants in Loughborough created a school growing area to plant a range of their favourite vegetables, including cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes and peas.

Some 204 primary, secondary and SEN schools in the county are working towards a gold, silver, bronze or foundation award, and more than 800 school staff have received Food for Life training to improve skills and knowledge to deliver food activities.

Councillor Louise Richardson, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: "It's great to see the first schools in Leicestershire achieving the Gold Food for Life accolade. This fantastic initiative is enabling our school children to learn more about where their food comes from and the benefits of healthy eating and food sustainability from a young age.

"We're looking forward to see more schools working towards their Food for Life awards to help pupils and their families develop positive habits that will last a lifetime."

Raksha Mistry, Leicestershire's Food for Life programme manager, said: "It's amazing working with schools in Leicestershire, and especially seeing teachers embracing the Food for Life Awards programme to transform the food culture in schools.

"They are providing hands-on experiences for pupils, creating opportunities to visit food producers and farmers, and developing the curriculum to support healthy food behaviours and knowledge. These experiences and life skills will equip pupils for a healthier future."

To find out more about Food for Life in Leicestershire and to get involved, click HERE.