One of the country’s most prestigious girls’ schools has come under fire after holding a special ‘Austerity Day’ lunch.
St Paul’s Girls’ School in London served a meal which included baked potatoes plus sides of beans and coleslaw, with students eating fruit for their dessert.
The independent school in Hammersmith which costs new entrants to its senior school over £25,000 a year, said the money saved would be given to charity.
St Paul’s Girls’ School in London held a lunch which included baked potatoes with beans and coleslaw, with students eating fruit for their dessert
The independent school, which costs new entrants to its senior school over £25,000 a year, said the money saved would be given to charity
They wrote in a now-deleted tweet: ‘Today was the final Austerity Day of the year. Students and staff had baked potatoes, with beans and coleslaw, for lunch, with fruit for dessert. The money saved with be donated to the school’s charities.’
The lunch was a sharp departure from the regular menu, where pupils have a choice of four options, and which features duck leg confit, seared cod, asparagus and slow-baked Moroccan lamb.
The message – later deleted – was accompanied by a poster reading ‘Austerity Day’ with an image of a servant in white gloves uncovering a plate of three peas.
It prompted fury online, with one dubbing the post ‘tasteless beyond belief’. Another joked that the students would not understand uproar over school dinners in the UK.
The prestigious girls’ school has come under fire after holding a special ‘Austerity Day’ luncheon
One Twitter user said it would be closer to austerity if the teachers were unable to eat
It prompted fury online, with one dubbing the post ‘tasteless beyond belief’
Another Twitter user wrote: ‘A private school apparently holding an austerity day where students eat what is basically a standard state school dinner.
‘Next week they’re off to Totten-ham with Catherine Tate’.
Labour MP David Lammy said: ‘Is this a sick joke? A million people having to reply on food banks are not laughing.’
Famous alumni of the distinguished school include Harriet Harman, Susanna Reid, Margaret Thatcher’s daughter Carol, actress Rachel Weisz, and Rosalind Franklin, who was pivotal in discovering DNA.
A spokesperson for the school said: ‘For many years, along with many schools and places of worship in the country, St Paul’s has arranged regular lunches when simple food is served and the money saved given to local charities.
Famous alumni of the distinguished school include Harriet Harman, Susanna Reid (pictured), Margaret Thatcher’s daughter Carol, actress Rachel Weisz, and Rosalind Franklin, who was pivotal in discovering DNA
‘The aim is also to raise the awareness of our students to those less fortunate than themselves. We take our commitment to the wider community very seriously.
‘The choice of the word “austerity” is to draw attention to the fact that others around them are facing significant economic difficulties.’
A sample of the school’s weekly menu includes meals such as: Spanish smokey samfaina (a Catalan-Valencian dish) with eggs and rocket, slow-baked Moroccan Lamb with broad beans, prunes and preserved lemon and Malaysian snapper curry with okra and tomato.
A food section on the website says: ‘Everyone knows teenage girls can be picky eaters, so we try to give them lots of choice.
‘We regard the enjoyment of good and healthy food as a priority and lunch at St Paul’s is a real highlight of the day.’