
THE headteacher of a Worcester school has written to TV chef Jamie Oliver asking him to stop a supermarket giant serving his pupils junk food.
Neil Morris says the Sainsburyâs store next to his school â Christopher Whitehead Language College â is tempting pupils with offers of cheap sweets and fizzy drinks.
But Sainsburyâs says it also offers deals on healthy foods and has offered to meet Mr Morris to discuss his concerns.
Mr Morris says he has already had to send teachers to the supermarket to order pupils back to class and fears the schoolâs canteen will be put out of business if pupils continue to abandon healthy eating options in favour of junk food.
Now he has asked the face of Sainsburyâs and champion of healthy school dinners Jamie Oliver to see for himself the impact he says the supermarket is having on the school.
Mr Morris said: âI am asking Jamie Oliver to come in and to meet with the store manager. All I am asking is that they donât serve the students after 8.25am (the start of the school day).
âThey say they are not, but they are. We have teachers now outside the store getting the children back into class. But these offers are causing poor diet and litter for the pupils and the school.
âThey have a great responsibility within the community that they arenât actually going with or meeting.
"We donât want to have to ban our kids from Sainsburyâs but that is the way it could be going.â
In a letter addressed to Mr Oliver, who is the celebrity face of Sainsburyâs advertising campaign, Mr Morris said he was âincreasingly concernedâ that the schoolâs excellent canteen, which has achieved the Governmentâs Healthy Schools status, will be put out of business by the âaggressive promotion of cheap, unhealthy, âtwo for the price of oneâ junk foodsâ.
Sainsburyâs opened its new store in St Johnâs in March 2009. In return for planning permission it agreed with Worcester City Council to fund the new St Johnâs Youth Centre and Sports Centre as well as improvements to Christopher Whitehead Language College.
A spokesman for Sainsburyâs said: "Our stores aim to make a real positive difference to the community so we were sorry to hear that one of our neighbours feels this way.
âAs well as special offers on occasional treats like soft drinks and crisps we also offer great deals on fruit and other healthier products.
âWe also take great care to advertise the benefits of healthy eating. Our Worcester store manager will be getting in touch with Mr Morris shortly to arrange a meeting to address his concerns and explore ways we can work more closely with the school in future."
This week a report by the Royal Economic Society claimed Mr Oliverâs healthy school dinners had led to a marked improvement in national currriculum test results.
The research suggested children reared on the healthier dinners did far better in tests for 11-year-olds.
No-one from Mr Oliverâs company was available to comment
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