Jamie Oliver's school dinners are brain food

PUPILS in Greenwich improved their performance at school after switching to a diet of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's healthy school dinners.

An independent study showed the performance of 11-year-old pupils eating Oliver's nutrient-rich meals improved in science and English.

The rate of absenteeism due to ill-health also fell, according to the study from the Institute for Social and Economic Research at Essex University. Channel 4 followed Oliver's progress as he launched the Feed Me Better campaign at 81 schools in Greenwich in 2004.

The chef said: "The results are fantastic. It's the first time a proper study has been done into the positive effects of the Feed Me Better campaign. It strongly suggests we were right all along."

Trisha Jaffe, headteacher of Kidbrooke secondary school, the first to introduce Oliver's menu, said: "Because the children aren't being stuffed with additives, they're much less hyper in the afternoons now."