Under the plan, all pupils must learn simple and health recipes using fresh ingredients. Beginning September all 11 to 14 year old students in 85 percent of British schools that offer food technology classes will have practical cookery sessions. The remaining 15 percent of secondary schools, mostly all boys schools, will include mandatory cooking classes by 2011.
The education sector expressed mixed responses to the plan. The National Union of Teachers accepted the idea, but warned it would be an additional cost. Steve Sinnott, general secretary of the NUT, said, "At long last cooking has been made a core part of the curriculum. It is an essential life skill and should have been recognized as such."
John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, gave a contrary opinion. "The government should never have downgraded practical cookery 20 years ago, substituting, for example, 'design a picnic' for the skills of making picnic food."
Headteachers are also wary where to find specialist cookery teachers and the lack of kitchens in some schools.
Aside from cooking lessons, schools will also offer students five hours of organized exercise a week to sustain its new anti-obesity program.
