Two Olympic medallists joined Swinton children to discuss the importance of eating a proper breakfast.
Eve Muirhead and Laura Deas visited Co-op Academy Swinton as part of a campaign from charity Magic Breakfast.
Nearly one in three schoolchildren are regularly skipping breakfast, which negatively impacts their concentration, energy levels and affects their ability to learn, according to Family Action research.
Gold medallist curler Eve Muirhead said: “Being an athlete, or a former athlete, I realised the importance of having breakfast.
“Interesting speaking to some of the students today, some of them don’t have breakfast and you ask them why and they shrug their shoulders. I don’t think it’s put across how important a healthy breakfast is to set you up for the day.
“So, I think an initiative like this is great for us to share that story and promote how much a good breakfast does help set you up, not just physically, but mentally as well.”
Magic Breakfast provides nourishing breakfasts to schools to help young people learn and to succeed.
The breakfasts are provided to disadvantaged areas of the nation, and a partnership with Quaker Oats means that more than 300,000 children across England and Scotland are fed and fuelled in the morning.
Laura Deas, a bronze medallist skeleton racer, said: “The fact that kids have a chance to come somewhere that’s a safe, calm environment and have a really good quality breakfast before starting their day.
“I think it must deliver so much stability and help with the school day, that I just thought it was something I really wanted to be a part of.
“I know how important a good quality breakfast is, so to pass that message onto the kids, especially the ones that are doing important exams this year, of how important the start of the day is with a good breakfast it.”
Nearly one in five UK children live in households that are experiencing food insecurity.
Headteacher Serena Ali said: “As an academy, we work very hard at poverty-proofing our students and ensuring that they start the day well.
“Having a good breakfast ensures that they start the day and we have eliminated barriers to learning. It allows us to work with the community, which we are very proud of.
“It allows us to eliminate pressures that families are facing today, and it allows us to help them ensure that they can go to work, do a few extra hours at work, knowing that their children are warm, fed, and looked after.”
Research shows that Year 2 pupils who were offered a free, nutritious Magic Breakfast achieved an average of two months additional progress compared to those without a school breakfast initiative.
“We have had an improvement in punctuality and attendance in this academic year,” Ali said. “We have surpassed national average in many subjects, including GCSE English, language, sports studies, chemistry, physics, and biology.
The Co-op group sponsors the scheme with Magic Breakfast who were introduced through Kellogg’s to fund breakfast clubs during the pandemic.
She said: “We’ve had a longstanding relationship, which has enabled us to offer nutritious breakfasts to all our students on a daily basis.”
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