Baking, frying and stewing to be compulsory

Ministers have announced that cooking classes which had fallen off the curriculum for many pupils, will now be compulsory for children aged between 11 and 14. Cooking was part of the design and technology part of the school curriculum, but as most parents will know actual cooking had taken a back seat to learning about menus and food science.

Now, schools were cooking is still on the curriculum, will be expected to feature an hour's cooking lesson every week for a term with effect immediately – while schools who don't currently offer cooking, will be expected to comply by 2011.

Schools Secretary Ed Balls, who announced the programme on BBC Breakfast News, said; 'It's not going to be just the technology of food, it will be how you can use simple ingredients, simple recipes, so that children and young people can be prepared for adult life'. He also promised £2.5m to fund the provision of ingredients for children from poorer families.

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