# Jamie's School Dinners > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jamie's_School_Dinners > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jamie's_School_Dinners.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie's_School_Dinners > Source revision: 1356800699 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 2005 British television series This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Jamie's School Dinners" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. 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(June 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Jamie's School Dinners Also known as Jamie Oliver's School Lunches Genre Documentary Directed by Guy Gilbert Creative director Jamie Oliver Presented by Jamie Oliver Starring Jamie Oliver Narrated by Timothy Spall Country of origin United Kingdom Original language English No. of episodes 4 Production Production location Jamie's Kitchen Running time 48 minutes Production company Fresh One Productions Original release Network Channel 4 Release 1 February (2005-02-01) – 22 February 2005 (2005-02-22) ***Jamie's School Dinners*** is a four-episode [documentary series](/source/Documentary_series) that was broadcast on [Channel 4](/source/Channel_4) in the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom) from 23 February to 16 March 2005. The series was recorded from Spring to Winter of 2004 and featured British [celebrity chef](/source/Celebrity_chef) [Jamie Oliver](/source/Jamie_Oliver) attempting to improve the quality and [nutritional value](/source/Nutritional_value) of [school dinners](/source/School_meal) at [Kidbrooke School](/source/Kidbrooke_School) in the [Royal Borough of Greenwich](/source/Royal_Borough_of_Greenwich). Oliver's experience on the series led to a broader [national campaign](/source/Civil_society_campaign) called Feed Me Better, aimed at improving school dinners throughout Britain.[1] ## Kidbrooke School At [Kidbrooke](/source/Kidbrooke_School), Oliver first encountered the school's seemingly fearsome head dinner lady, Nora Sands.[2] Despite frequent clashes over matters ranging from kitchen technique to workload, Sands eventually became Oliver's most ardent supporter throughout the series and the campaign.[3] Oliver had his work cut out for him: firstly, the daily budget for school dinners was 37 [pence](/source/Pence) per child. Secondly, the students at the school were so used to eating processed junk food (such as deep-fried meat products and [chips](/source/French_fries)) that Oliver faced a student rebellion when he banned [junk food](/source/Junk_food) from the school. Thirdly, Oliver's unconventional ingredients and meal ideas startled the dinner ladies, increased their workload dramatically, and exceeded the allocated budget.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ## Boot camp After a disastrous start at Kidbrooke, with students refusing to eat and dinner ladies threatening to resign due to overwork, Oliver organised a "[boot camp](/source/Recruit_training)" for dinner ladies in the borough, roping in the catering division of the [British Army](/source/British_Army) to demonstrate how to cook large amounts of food quickly and efficiently. ## County Durham Statistically, the English county of [Durham](/source/County_Durham) had the highest rate of health problems among school children in the country. During a visit to a primary school in [Peterlee](/source/Peterlee), Oliver realised that part of the challenge in promoting healthier eating habits among children was influenced by the food they were consuming at home. He visited a young boy's family and convinced them to try a healthier home-cooked menu for a week.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ## Return to London Returning to Greenwich, Oliver faced a student [boycott](/source/Boycott) of his new menu. He produced an education kit, and recruited children to work in the kitchen, demonstrating to them exactly what went into [chicken nuggets](/source/Chicken_nuggets), and teaching them to identify [vegetables](/source/Vegetables). As the campaign gained momentum and garnered increasing public support, Oliver approached civil servants to advocate for increased funding for ingredients and staff wages in school canteens. ## Results of the show and campaign The [HM Government](/source/Government_of_the_United_Kingdom), and [Prime Minister](/source/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom) [Tony Blair](/source/Tony_Blair) promised to take steps to improve school dinners shortly after the programme aired. 271,677 people signed an online petition on the Feed Me Better website, which was delivered to [10 Downing Street](/source/10_Downing_Street) on 30 March 2005. Certain junk foods (such as the notorious [Bernard Matthews](/source/Bernard_Matthews_Farms) "Turkey Twizzlers" much derided on the show) were banned from schools by their local borough or county council.[4] Currently[*[when?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Dates_and_numbers#Chronological_items)*] fried foods are only allowed to be served[*[where?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(geographic_names))*] twice a week and soft drinks are no longer available.[5] The [Department for Education and Skills](/source/Department_for_Education_and_Skills_(United_Kingdom)) created the [School Food Trust](/source/School_Food_Trust), a £60 million initiative to provide support and advice to school administrators to improve the standard of school meals.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ### Results In London, meeting first with [Alan Johnson](/source/Alan_Johnson), the [Secretary of State for Education and Skills](/source/Secretary_of_State_for_Education_and_Skills), and [Prime Minister](/source/Prime_Minister) [Tony Blair](/source/Tony_Blair), Jamie secures promises of an additional £280m for 3 years, a trust to allow schools without kitchens to build, a pledge to consider a series of training kitchens across the country, and creation of a voluntary code of conduct concerning advertising of junk food to children.[4] ## Effect on exam results In 2009, a report was released that after the implementation of Jamie's School Dinners program test scores in English and science improved.[5] The report was conducted by the Institute for Social and Economic Research located at [Essex University](/source/Essex_University). It measured the performance of 11-year-old students from Greenwich, south London from 2006-2007, allowing a full year of performance to be measured.[5] The results showed the number of students to receive a 4 or a 5 on their science exams increased by 8%, while English scores rose by 6% and maths also showed a slight increase in performance.[6] ## Criticism [David Laws](/source/David_Laws) said the government rushed into the legislation too quickly, and would be unable to meet its target requirement of participation.[7] ## See also - [Healthy Kids School Canteen Association](/source/Healthy_Kids_School_Canteen_Association) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Richard Garner (31 August 2009). ["Jamie's school dinners for all"](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/jamies-school-dinners-for-all-1779635.html). *The Independent*. Retrieved 7 April 2012. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-y746_2-0)** Thirkell, Robert (2014). [*CONFLICT - The Insiders' Guide to Storytelling in Factual/Reality TV & Film*](https://books.google.com/books?id=vSXLAgAAQBAJ&q=camden%2520%2522dinner%2520ladies%2522&pg=PA44). A&C Black. pp. 44–45. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4081-4539-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4081-4539-5). Retrieved 13 November 2025. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-g455_3-0)** ["Grateful dinner lady hated celebrity chef for starters"](https://www.independent.ie/style/celebrity/grateful-dinner-lady-hated-celebrity-chef-for-starters/26389379.html). *Irish Independent*. 12 April 2006. Retrieved 13 November 2025. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-BBC05_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-BBC05_4-1) ["TV chef welcomes £280m meals plan"](https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/4391695.stm). *BBC News*. 30 March 2005. Retrieved 7 April 2012. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Williams10_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Williams10_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Williams10_5-2) Rachel Williams (29 March 2010). ["Jamie Oliver's school dinners shown to have improved academic results"](https://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/mar/29/jamie-oliver-school-dinners-meals). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 7 April 2012. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Urmee Khan (1 February 2009). ["Jamie Oliver's school dinners improve exam results, report finds"](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/4423132/Jamie-Olivers-school-dinners-improve-exam-results-report-finds.html). *The Telegraph*. Retrieved 7 April 2012. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Jessica Shepherd (9 July 2009). ["Schoolchildren shun healthy school meals"](https://www.theguardian.com/education/2009/jul/09/failure-school-meals-revolution). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 15 February 2017. v t e Jamie Oliver Television The Naked Chef Pukka Tukka Oliver's Twist Jamie's Kitchen Jamie's School Dinners Jamie's Great Italian Escape Jamie's Kitchen Australia Jamie's Chef Jamie at Home Jamie's Ministry of Food Jamie's American Road Trip Jamie's Family Christmas Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Jamie Does... Jamie's 30-Minute Meals Jamie's Dream School Jamie's Great Britain Jamie's 15-Minute Meals Jamie's Comfort Food Jamie's Super Food Jamie's Meat-Free Meals Video games What's Cooking? with Jamie Oliver v t e BAFTA TV Award for Best Factual Series The Death of Yugoslavia (1996) The House (1997) The Nazis: A Warning from History (1998) The Human Body (1999) The Mayfair Set (2000) Britain at War in Colour (2001) Horizon (2002) The Trust (2003) The National Trust (2004) The Power of Nightmares (2005) Jamie's School Dinners (2006) Ross Kemp on Gangs (2007) The Tower: A Tale of Two Cities (2008) Amazon with Bruce Parry (2009) One Born Every Minute (2010) Welcome to Lagos (2011) Our War (2012) Our War (2013) Bedlam (2014) Gogglebox (2015) The Murder Detectives (2016) Exodus: Our Journey to Europe (2017) Ambulance (2018) Louis Theroux's Altered States (2019) Leaving Neverland (2020) Once Upon a Time in Iraq (2021) Uprising (2022) Libby, Are You Home Yet? (2023) Lockerbie (2024) To Catch a Copper (2025) See No Evil (2026) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jamie's School Dinners](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie's_School_Dinners) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie's_School_Dinners?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.