Feeding bright young minds at Rydal Penrhos
Rydal Penrhos recognises the importance of the “whole child”, including social and emotional learning along with academics.
And one good place to find opportunities to support our pupils in this sense is by providing all the nutrients needed during meal times to keep them focused in and out of the classroom.
Maintaining a balanced diet and regular exercise is important for all individuals, especially those within education no matter their age. These children are required to eat a variety of foods from each group to ensure optimal intake of all vitamins and minerals.
At the same time, they may face new challenges regarding food choices and habits. Decisions about what to eat are partly determined by what is provided in school, at home, the influences from friends and the information they gather from social media, which is becoming a growing influence.
School-aged children grow significantly, but at a slower rate, whilst being very physically active in general. As a result, their nutritional needs are high and critical. Additionally, genetic background, gender, body size and shape are all important determinants of nutrient requirements.
This is something Rydal Penrhos realises is a top priority and we work closely with catering partners Holroyd Howe on producing a balanced menu throughout the week, something that’s proven a big hit with pupils and staff alike.
Of course, for our pupils, it’s just eating delicious and varied dishes with friends. But to staff, it’s feeding bright young minds and enabling them to progress both academically and during their extra-curricular activities.
It might sound like a small thing. However, it makes a significant difference and is further reflected in our pupils’ development across all areas and consistently exceptional examination results at both A Level and GCSE.
This also gives our parents peace of mind knowing their children are eating the right things, being provided with multiple choices on a daily basis and learning all about the benefits of a strong nutritional foundation that they can take into higher education and later life.
Our menus are always being monitored and assessed by our incredible staff team, making tweaks and improvements where needed. This is part of the school’s ongoing strategy to provide a well-rounded and exceptional education from Pre-School right up until our Year 13 pupils are ready for the next stage of their respective journeys.
A healthy, balanced diet is a key component of this. As is providing all the necessary tools needed for our pupils to explore more about how food impacts performance and overall mindset in pursuit of making the right choices when presented with them.
Knowledge is power, after all.
Rydal Penrhos looks to provide specialist Food Studies and Nutrition lessons as part of the curriculum, which is yet another unique approach to providing our pupils with a heightened sense of awareness. Something our pupils thoroughly enjoy judging by a recent survey conducted with Year 7 to see how they are transitioning and what each child is liking most about the senior site.
Almost every pupil named Food and Nutrition as one of their top subjects, with the lunches also coming in for significant praise from the group.