With a new academic year about to commence in the UK, Angela Maher, Chief Executive Officer at Savoy Educational Trust, reviews the efforts being made in schools to present hospitality as a credible career choice for young people.
September signifies the start of a new academic year for secondary school students. A fresh start indicated by new stationery and shoes, over-sized blazers, and most-importantly a new timetable.
As students advance through secondary school their daily agendas change as they shed old ones and choose new subjects in preparation for GCSEs and other examinations.
However, for a long time, subjects that might set students up for a career in hospitality, such as food technology, have had minimal presence on – or been entirely absent – from timetables, particularly at Key Stage 4.
The lack of money to invest in facilities, teacher shortages and general malaise around hospitality as a credible career choice for students are some of the reasons for this issue.
Thankfully, the ground is shifting and this year, due to the efforts of schools investing in food tech facilities such as new kitchen appliances and work stations, more schools are able to offer students enhanced opportunities in this area and inspire more young people to pursue careers in hospitality.
Schools making more space for hospitality on their timetables include Cardinal Newman Catholic High School in Warrington, which has increased capacity and improved the facilities in its food room. The upgraded facilities, partly-funded by Savoy Education Trust, mean that 104 students are now able to study hospitality at Key Stage 4 compared to 80 in previous years. That’s opening up the possibility of hospitality and catering as a career to 30% more students.
Tollbar Academy in Grimsby applied for funding to develop a second food room. The school had been delivering practical food lessons to Key Stage 3 students since 2021 and they were so popular that students were keen to further their studies in this area in Key Stage 4. As its vice principal Paul Kaylow said in his funding application, extra facilities would allow the school to provide courses in food and nutrition at Key Stage 4, providing students with a pathway to further qualifications and careers within the hospitality industry. What is more, the academy had really done its homework and had already appointed a specialist food teacher with 22 years’ experience working in catering to work with the existing food technology teacher so the school could deliver hospitality and catering courses. This is something the industry has been calling for and The Savoy Educational Trust is thrilled to be able to help.
Other schools who successfully received funding were Oathall Community College in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, which recommissioned a food technology room by installing new equipment, including 12 workstations. The work, completed in 2022, has meant that the number of students completing a WJEC Award in Hospitality and Catering had increased by 50% and has led to a 15% rise in the number of students studying hospitality and catering in further education.
At School 21, a secondary school in East London, investment in facilities not only allowed formal study of hospitality, it inspired some great food-related project-based learning. For example, students were given an opportunity to develop a healthy snacks menu to be sold at break time teaching them the skills they might need to run a catering business in the future. The project was only possible, said technology teacher Aanchal Gumbeer, thanks to the investment in new cooking equipment.
We’ve seen that students who have the opportunity to work with industry through projects like Hospitality Connect and Springboard go on to develop careers in hospitality, but giving support at grassroots level and allowing students at secondary school to study hospitality and catering in the classroom bolsters these chances further. Giving students options and showing how hospitality can provide them with a career within the school setting is welcomed and the Trust will always consider supporting projects with this aim. Well done to the schools who have recognised this and have made space on timetables for hospitality.
For more information about the projects supported by Savoy Educational Trust or for in-depth information about the grant application process, please visit here.
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