Public school axes vending machines

A leading Home Counties public school has banned chocolate, sweets and fizzy drinks from vending machines.

David Jarrett, headmaster of the £13,000 a year Reed's School in Cobham, Surrey, decided to get rid of the sugary snacks and drinks when he noticed the children were misbehaving more in the afternoon.

He believed there was a link between the kids' eating habits at lunchtime and a rise in misconduct in the afternoon, so when the Reed's School catering contract was up for grabs, he decided to change the vending option.

"Obviously, children love sweets and chocolate," he said. "They would guzzle down a whole load of the stuff at break, all washed down with fizzy drinks. When they returned to class, you could see how the E-numbers were affecting them - they were less attentive than they otherwise might have been."

Sodexho, which has held the school's catering contract for more than 30 years, conducted a survey of the 470 pupils which revealed that they would eat healthier alternatives, such as flapjacks, oat cookies, fruit muffins and yogurts. Carousels selling freshly made sandwiches and baguettes were also set up.

Lynn Agent, catering manager at Reed's, said the kids were not very happy to start with. "But they are getting used to it and there is less grumbling now."

The school's bursar, Alan Bott, also had to be convinced of the idea because the vending machines made £4,000 a year in profits, but he said the impact on revenue had not been as bad as expected.