Crestwood Park Primary School, Kingswinford, West Midlands

Last year, with the help of a number of local businesses, Crestwood Park Primary School converted an empty classroom into a kitchen. All they needed was the equipment, which is where the Cooking with Schools campaign came in!

The school set themselves a target total of £400 to be able to buy the equipment they needed. They celebrated the opening of their new kitchen with a launch event, to which they invited the local press and the businesses that had helped them create their kitchen space. Guests were offered food cooked by pupils and the school announced their participation in the Cooking with Schools scheme, encouraging everyone in their local community to get behind them and to start collecting tokens.

The school has been extremely proactive in getting parents involved. Their campaign has involved talking to parents at any given opportunity, in parent assemblies and at parent's evening for example, and in their weekly newsletter, in which they updated parents on how much the school had raised. The school also put their Cooking with Schools banner and posters up to ensure that there was no way parents could miss the fact they were collecting!

Pamela Batta, the school's Head of Technology said: "The Cooking with Schools campaign could not have come along at a better time for us. We are so excited about the free equipment and the opportunities and enjoyment it will afford the pupils. They can't wait to get cooking! The Cooking with Schools educational resources have also been invaluable."

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