School meals rejected by half of Rotherham pupils

The national survey of 128 local authority areas found that 46.5 per cent of students in the borough eat in the school canteen.

This figure left Rotherham ahead of Sheffield (38 per cent) but lagging behind Barnsley (50.4 per cent) and Doncaster (58.6 per cent) in the South Yorkshire rankings.

To encourage higher take-up, several councils are trialling a scheme giving free school meals for all nursery and primary pupils.

School food trust chairman, Rob Rees, said: “When children eat better, they do better—so good food at school is an investment in children’s learning and their health.”