Highfield and Brookham Schools has been given an early Christmas present from the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

We have again been awarded the maximum five stars in our annual inspection into food hygiene, not only for the pre-prep and prep schools but also for the new Oak Leaf Café.

Run in conjunction with the environmental health department at Chichester District Council, the school’s local authority, the FSA ratings are a snapshot of the standards of food hygiene found at the time of inspection.

Inspectors scrutinise handling of food, how food is stored, how food is prepared, cleanliness of facilities and how food safety is managed.

The result was a clean bill of health for Highfield and Brookham Schools and the Oak Leaf Café, with no recommendations or advisory notes, and a big helping of pride and satisfaction for catering manager Nadine Travis and her dedicated team.

The school was also awarded five stars 12 months ago but this year was the first inspection for the café, which officially opened its doors in early November.

Highfield Headmaster Phillip Evitt said: “Food is a very important element of life at Highfield and Brookham, from breakfast, lunch and dinner to our enviable sports day match teas, so to receive a glowing, five-star endorsement from the Food Standards Agency really is a tremendous honour.

Nadine and her fabulous catering team work incredibly hard to ensure that we work to and maintain the very highest standards in our kitchens, so they deserve all the credit in the world for this tremendous achievement.

Highfield and Brookham has a team of highly-skilled chefs who produce a varied choice of delicious, nutritious and well-balanced meals, cooked on the premises using only the freshest ingredients.

Seasonal produce is a regular staple of the menu while the catering team also prepare Ôthemed’ menus such as meat-free Mondays and dishes from overseas. They also cater for a wide range of special dietary requirements.