Dunnottar Primary School, Aberdeenshire, Wins Best of British Food Award

19th February 2008, 5:09pm

Beating 300 entries from over 50 UK schools, Dunnottar Primary School in Aberdeenshire has won the Brakes Best of British School Food Award, in association with LACA and ASSIST.

To win the competition, primary school children simply needed to draw a picture of their favourite British meal and research and explain where the ingredients come from, and why it's important to eat British food.  First place winning pupil Rachel Airth's picture, aged 10, was considered the best by the judges because it depicts the classic British favourite 'Fish & Chips' made from 'fish from the North sea' and 'chips and peas from local farmers'.

Rachel described why she thought it was important to eat British food; "It's local so it doesn't pollute the environment that means it's cheaper and fresher so better for you, full of goodness. Tasty and delicious!"

The prize awarded to the school is £1000 worth of school sports equipment and an MP3 Player for Rachel, with £500 worth of school sports equipment also being given to the top two runner-up schools Watchfield Primary School, Swindon and St Mary's Primary School, Clydebank.

The judges of the competition were Barry Gurteen, Brakes Trading Director, Ken Campbell, ASSIST Vice Chair, and Sandra Russell, National Chair, LACA.

Sandra Russell, National Chair, LACA comments: "Rachel's picture caught the eye of the judges because of its bright colours and its simplicity. We all loved the happy face she drew on the fish. Though more important was Rachel's understanding of where food comes from and the benefits of buying food sourced locally or regionally. Having over 300 entries for this competition has been fantastic and the quality of the entries has been exceptional."

Launched in autumn 2007 in time for the Scottish and British Food Fortnights, the competition was designed to help bring British food into the classroom and to offer schools an exciting children's competition to give them food for thought when it comes British food.

Barry Gurteen Trading Director at Brakes commented: "We launched the competition to get children to start thinking about their favourite food and where it comes from. Learning and understanding about food is an important part of school life and doesn't stop in the dining hall. This competition has been such a success not only in the amount of responses we received, but in the knowledge that it has helped food and where it comes from become a topic of discussion in the classroom.

"We know that getting children excited, or thinking about food is half the battle. But we believe by getting young people to appreciate the diversity of the fresh foods available in Britain, how food is produced and inspiring them to consider what they are eating will have long term benefits for them."

For further information, please contact Brakes Customer Service on 0845 606 9090. Alternatively, visit Brakes Best of British website at www.british.brake.co.uk

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