A brand-new kitchen for Arnold’s Killisick Junior School is opened by Tom Randall MP

Killisick Junior School children have been enjoying a specially chosen menu for a week to celebrate the opening of their brand-new school kitchen. The funding for the project came from the school’s multi-academy trust, The Flying High Partnership and in all, renovations cost of £83,000.

There to show his support and cut the ribbon on the kitchen’s first day of use was Tom Randall MP, a former pupil of the school.

Tom said “It’s always great to come back to my old junior school and I am grateful for the invitation to return. I have lots of happy memories here, although every time I come back its always slightly smaller than I remember!

“It’s great that The Flying High Partnership, the school’s multi-academy trust has invested the funding to build the new kitchen and I am looking forward to chatting to kitchen staff in what is now a flexible and modernised space. I am sure the new kitchens will serve the children of Killisick well for many generations to come. Of course, making sure that children receive the nutrition and a healthy hot meal they need to thrive is of paramount importance; it assists in their education and wellbeing. It’s lovely to see the changes taking place and I can see how popular it is after speaking to children today, -they are so excited at the news and what is going on at the school.”

Joining guests at the opening were pupils from Killisick’s School Parliament and Chair of Governors, Mrs Rachel Makey.

Pupil Matilda Handy, Year 6, said she was excited to see the new kitchen. “I think the new kitchen will make everything so much nicer for everybody at the school. Children need to eat well to be healthy and to be able to concentrate. The people who work in the kitchen will also be happy as it looks really nice to work in.”

Matilda, who has become well known in the local area was recently awarded a British Citizen Youth Award for her creation of the ‘Letters to heaven’ post-boxes. She collected her award from the Palace of Westminster in October in recognition of her kind idea, which encourages people to post notes, or write down their thoughts about loved ones they miss. The white ‘Letters to heaven’ post-boxes, can be found at various locations including one at Gedling Crematorium.

Matilda says she is happy that her school now has a state-of-the-art kitchen, and pointed out that the school also has a new headteacher too! “I love my school and Mr Jones our new head teacher is going to make it even better than it already is! The teachers are lovely, and the school deserves this new kitchen which will serve all of the staff and children. The teachers care massively about all of us and not just about our education, they care about our health and that we are happy too. I am positive the kitchen will be great for everyone, and especially for the people who work so hard to make our meals. They now have a dishwasher too which is going to make a huge difference!”

Richard Jones is the new Headteacher at the school and he said, “Our former kitchen was in need of a total revamp, and we are delighted that through funding by the Flying High Partnership we now have a fantastic, future proof kitchen to cater for the children in our school community. As Tom and Matilda said, nutrition is a huge part of the welfare and care we owe to the children of the school. Whilst our kitchen staff have always produced fantastic meals, we are delighted that they now have new facilities to support them in their valuable work, both now and for future generations of children of Killisick Junior School.”

Jill Mitchell is a catering assistant at the school, and she said the catering team where thrilled with the new facilities. “We are delighted with the new kitchen, particularly our new dishwasher which replaced our sterilising station. Hopefully this will make things a lot easier for us. The new kitchen is so bright, it has a non-slip floor, a new pantry and equipment and everything in it is easily cleaned. We think it is going to make a huge difference to the school.”

Photograph: Tom Randall MP and Richard Jones, Headteacher, with children in the new kitchen.

Photograph: Adults left to right are: Mrs Kathryn Carlyle-Butlin (School Business Manager) Headteacher Richard Jones, Tom Randall MP and Mrs Rachel Makey, Chair of Governors.