What happens when school food becomes about choice, variety and giving students something they genuinely want to eat?
We visited Rastrick High School, part of Polaris Academy Trust, to see first-hand how the work of Damien O’Brien and the team has transformed the school’s approach to food and, importantly, the impact it has had on students’ choices, with meal uptake increasing by 30% and an additional 1,700 hot food transactions taking place every week.
At the heart of this approach is Represent: a menu cycle and branding concept that transforms break and lunchtime into an abundance of choice, giving students more opportunities to find food they want to eat, while changing the way they perceive school meals.
The Represent secondary school catering offer provides food that feels modern while remaining affordable. How did you develop the concept, and what has the response been from students?
Represent was developed to reflect the way young people eat today. We recognised that students are influenced by high street food brands, global cuisines and social media trends, so we wanted to create a school dining experience that felt contemporary and relevant.
Alongside traditional favourites available every day, we offer a wide range of globally inspired street food dishes that bring variety and excitement to our menus. The key difference is that everything is prepared with nutrition in mind—nothing is deep fried and all recipes are designed to be as healthy as possible without sacrificing flavour.
We have also invested significantly in creating an environment that students enjoy spending time in, with strong branding, digital menu screens and facial recognition technology that helps us manage queues and deliver a slick, fast-paced service.
The response from students has been exceptionally positive, with increased engagement, strong meal uptake and excellent feedback on both the food and the overall dining experience. The success of the Represent concept was recently recognised nationally when our team won the Secondary School Catering Team of the Year Award at ‘The School Food People’ National Awards for Excellence, probably the most respected accolade in the school food sector.
What small changes or improvements have you made over recent years that have had the biggest positive impact on your catering service?
Some of the biggest improvements have actually come from lots of smaller changes rather than one major initiative. Investment in branding and marketing has helped increase engagement with both pupils and parents. The introduction of digital screens allows us to showcase food in a more appealing way and communicate menus effectively.
We’ve also invested in facial recognition technology, which has streamlined cashless transactions, reduced queue times and created a much smoother customer experience. Coupled with regular menu development, a stronger focus on customer feedback and the continual introduction of new food concepts, these improvements have helped modernise our service and increase uptake.
If you could offer one piece of advice to other multi-academy trusts looking to enhance their school food provision, what would it be?
Don’t see school catering purely as a support service—see it as an opportunity to positively influence education, health and wellbeing. Invest time in understanding what your pupils want, be prepared to innovate and don’t be afraid to challenge traditional perceptions of school food.
Creating a strong food culture takes time, but the impact on pupil wellbeing, engagement and meal uptake can be significant. Most importantly, put children and young people at the centre of every decision and build a service around their needs and experiences.
School catering is constantly evolving. How has your partnership with Turner Price helped you respond to changing trends, challenges and opportunities?
Having a strong supplier relationship is essential in today’s catering landscape, and Turner Price has been an important partner in supporting our growth and development.
They understand our vision and work collaboratively with us to identify new products, emerging trends and innovative solutions that support both our Little Foodies primary offer and our Represent secondary offer. Their market knowledge helps us stay ahead of changing student expectations while maintaining the consistency and value we need across our schools.
The partnership has enabled us to continually evolve our menus, maintain quality standards and respond effectively to the opportunities and challenges facing school food today. Working together, we’ve been able to create an offer that is innovative, sustainable, nutritionally balanced and, most importantly, one that students genuinely enjoy.
