Sheffield school ahead of the game in pioneering education in the kitchen!

24 January 2008

Tapton Secondary School in Sheffield is leading the way in enforcing The Department of Children, Schools and Families' (DCSF) new plans to introduce compulsory cookery lessons to secondary school students, and is equipping youngsters with the skills needed to satisfy the burgeoning Catering and Hospitality industry in the South Yorkshire region.

At Tapton School cookery lessons are already a compulsory part of the curriculum, as students aged 11-14 spend an hour a week on the subject. Vocational qualifications in Catering are available to students, helping them to continue to develop their skills in this area and improve their employment prospects.

Headteacher David Bowes said: "It really matters that young people know about healthy eating, as knowing about it now sets the scene for their future when they will prepare their own food. Knowing how to use the raw ingredients is vital for healthy eating."

The students' teacher in Food Technology, Mrs Jane Raynes, was previously General Manager at Richard Smith's Thyme restaurant (now Artisan) in Crosspool, and has valuable insight into the catering industry. Mrs Raynes said: "Cookery lessons are an essential part of our curriculum. The students benefit from lessons in healthy eating and are equipped with useful skills for life and for their future employment. If they are interested in working in this growing industry, we also offer vocational qualifications in Catering in years 10 and 11, to help them go further. The employments prospects in this industry in the South Yorkshire region are very good."

The Catering and Hospitality industry is a growing area of employment in South Yorkshire, and one of the fasting growing sectors in the UK. Cookery lessons provide an important grounding for youngsters interested in a career in this sector, and equip them with useful skills for the next stage, when they can consider taking vocational qualifications in Catering and Hospitality. The number of hotels, restaurants, leisure businesses and visitors through South Yorkshire is constantly growing, so the employment prospects are high for students qualified in this area.

More information on vocational qualifications in Catering and Hospitality, and the employment opportunities available in this sector, is available to students and their parents at www.voced.co.uk.