School apologizes for serving measly £3.50 Christmas lunch

A school in West Sussex has come under fire for the quantity and quality of Christmas lunch served to students. The meal consisted of a tiny piece of turkey and stuffing in a bap with a single pig in blanket and mini roll.

Hang your heads in shame

When photos of the ‘pathetic’ meal were shared on social media, some angry parents condemned the meal as ‘something from Oliver Twist.’

One furious parent, their dog eats better than what was served the students at a cost of £3.50. Another who called the meal ‘pathetic’ said the school ought to ‘hang their head in shame’.

Dad Adrian Davey who shared a photo on Facebook had a caption saying:

This is the #christmasdinner that Bohunt Education Trust Bohunt School charged us £3.50 for… It’s like something from Oliver Twist, I wonder what the management are eating? What better proof do you need that academies are businesses? Probably dining out on our children’s money.

Students at nearby Bohunt Academy in Worthing were served something similar as Christmas lunch. Both schools are part of the Bohunt multi-academy trust. A parent of a student who goes to one of these schools said:

My two boys had their Christmas Lunch at school today and got served this…… Bohunt Education Trust is this acceptable and worth £3.50 each. I emailed the school this morning and have since spoken to one of the heads and a full refund has been given.

Mum Melanie Leogue told Mid-Sussex Times :

The children had nothing last year and it's a shame the school did not make more of an effort for them as they have had it so tough.

Apologies and refunds

The schools have since apologized, offering to refund monies paid for the lunch. They blamed the measly-looking meal on shortage of kitchen staff due to Covid. Associate headteacher Natasha Nicol said in a letter sent to parents:

As you might be aware, the Christmas lunch menu yesterday was not of the standard that we would want or expect at SGS. Due to a combination of unforeseen supply chain issues and Covid-related staffing shortages, our planned offer was affected at very short notice. I would like to unreservedly apologize for this situation