Twelve pupils from Coleham Primary School in Shrewsbury had just 75 minutes to turn the school hall into a restaurant, and prep, cook and serve a community meal to their families and staff.
‘Friday Night Dinner’ is a unique restaurant project which sees pupils from the school collaborate with charity, Shrewsbury Food Hub, and local chef, the Hungry Guy.
The project started out as a school initiative to equip pupils with future life skills and spark an interest in careers in hospitality.
The entire meal is cooked from Shrewsbury Food Hub donations. Last year the charity rescued 214 tonnes of food, redistributing it to community groups and currently runs eight community freezers in Shropshire.
Headteacher Tom Larkham said: “This has been such a powerful project; the children have been empowered to achieve something wonderful. They have learnt new skills, built a connection with food, realised that good food should be accessible to all, and built inner confidence in a magnitude of ways. The changes we witnessed in the children during the 75 minutes was something quite extraordinary.”
Coleham Primary School, part of the 3-18 Education Trust, is working on a variety of food and drink events this year with local producers. The Friday Night Dinner project continues for another season.
Find out more about the project here.
"This has been such a powerful project; the children have been empowered to achieve something wonderful.”
Notes for editors
The 3-18 Education Trust is a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) of primary and secondary schools across Shropshire, with a community of over 5,000 students.
For press enquiries, contact media@318education.co.uk.
