HEALTHY school meals may be high on the Government's agenda but for most high schools in the Malvern Hills, pizza, burgers and chips are a staple part of the menu.

This week, as a direct result of TV programme Jamie's School Dinners, the Government adopted a new policy on meals provided in schools.

In its document Children - Forward Not Back, the Government pledges to boost spending on kitchen facilities, improve training for dinner ladies and subject school food to Ofsted inspections.

The Channel 4 programme featuring celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, highlighted the need to educate children about healthy eating and for additional funding to allow schools to provide healthy, fresh meals.

In Greenwich, where it was filmed, just 37p is spent per child on school dinners.

In Worcestershire, the catering agencies that supply most secondary schools spend an average of 65p per child to produce each meal. Pupils can then expect to pay about £1.50.

Alliance in Partnership, based in Oldbury, supplies high schools including Hanley Castle, John Masefield in Ledbury and The Chase in Malvern.

A typical menu offers six types of burger (costing between £1.10 to £1.20), hot dogs (from 70p), sausage rolls (from 50p), Turkey Twizzlers (45p) and sausage and egg baps (£1), alongside jacket potatoes (from 50p), sandwiches (from £1), salad (70p) and fruit (30p).

An average meal, could be anything from a beef casserole, mash and vegetables to pie and chips.

Bill Campbell, of Shire Services in Shropshire, which caters for Dyson Perrins High School in Malvern Link, said it was difficult to strike a balance between what pupils want and what is good for them.

He said cutting out junk food altogether would mean losing customers.

"What we try to do in secondary schools is offer as much variety as possible but we do still offer some processed food," he said.

"If you take it off the menu completely, you just lose customers and from a financial point of view, the school suffers quite badly."

Mr Campbell said he believed the solution was in educating children to choose healthier options.

"Our view is that it's all down to what happens at home and the pressure parents put children under to force the healthy eating message home," he said.

"I think, at the end of the day, money needs to go into raising awareness and changing culture."

Mr Campbell said there had been a noticeable drop in the number of children eating school dinners since Jamie Oliver's programme.

He said: "I think the perception among parents is that all schools are offering bad food, but we're keen to counter that."

"We want to support what Jamie Oliver's doing as it's long over- due, but we do offer healthy options."