The children at Steyning Grammar School in West Sussex had been looking forward to their special Christmas dinner. So much so that many of those who usually take a packed lunch into school signed up for it, paying ￡3.50 for the pleasure.
But there was uproar this week when pupils were presented with a dry bread roll, an anaemic slice of turkey and a solitary pig in a blanket for their festive lunch.
The meal also included a square of unappetising stuffing and a chocolate mini-roll, though the children could opt for a mince pie instead.
Soon pupils were sending photographs of their sorry-looking Christmas meal to their parents, who complained about the standard of the meal, posting the photographs on social media.
“I am really upset by this,” one parent posted on Facebook. “Is this really the food I’m paying for? How can the kids be expected to concentrate and learn if this is the sort of food they receive?”
Kate Burton, another parent, added: “Disgraceful, ￡3.50 for a roll, one bit of turkey, small bit of sausage and a bit of stuffing! And there was nothing else available for those who didn’t choose Xmas lunch.”
‘A lot of them just ended up in the bin’
Ciaran Walsh, the parent of a 15-year-old girl at the school, told The Telegraph: “She doesn’t normally have school dinners as she takes in packed lunches, but she wanted to join in with this as it was for Christmas and it seemed like a nice idea.
“But when she received hers yesterday and was so appalled by it she sent me a photograph of it. It was grim. She didn’t eat it and a lot of them ended up in the bin. It hardly filled the children with festive cheer.”
Mr Walsh, 46, a sound designer, said: “It was really dismal. I don’t know how they can serve that to children and think it’s all right. It looks like prison food but to be honest I hope prisoners get better than that.
“There was a vegetarian option but you had to get there early for those and they soon ran out.”
Steyning Grammar School, where lunches usually cost between ￡2.50 and ￡3 a day, was set up in 1614 by William Holland, an alderman of Chichester.
It became a comprehensive school in 1968, before being recently turned into an academy school by Bohunt Education Trust, retaining its historic “grammar school” name.
Mr Walsh said: “It’s a perfectly decent school, but when it was taken over by the trust there was a lot of talk about the resources they promised to put into it.
“I know it’s been a difficult time for schools recently, because of the pandemic but this is really poor.”
In a message to parents who complained about the meal, the school stated: “We are sorry that you feel that the Christmas meal was of poor quality.
“The overall feedback from the students was that they really enjoyed it and this was evidenced by the empty plates and happy faces.”
The school said it had consulted with students over what the Christmas dinner should be like, adding: “They did not want a traditional meal so we came up with the alternative version.”
School initially refused to refund parents
It also turned down requests for a refund of the cost of the Christmas meal, telling parents: “As we have bought the items and students have eaten them, then there will not be any refunds.”
But Steyning Grammar apologised on Wednesday over the standard of the lunch, blaming Covid infections for a series of staff shortages and offering parents a full refund.
In a statement, a spokesman for the school said: “The Christmas lunch served to some students yesterday was clearly not in line with the high standards we set for our school caterers, and we apologise unreservedly for this.
“Due to a combination of unforeseen supply chain issues and Covid-related staffing shortages, our planned lunch was affected at very short notice.
“We have now investigated this isolated matter fully and have apologised to all students and parents affected, together with providing a full refund.”