St Wilfrid's School in Blyth helping parents reduce living costs by teaching them how to cook

The idea was to help parents and carers learn how to cook from scratch, thereby saving them money, and was launched a few months ago.

Needless to say, the ongoing cost of living crisis meant the lessons were popular and now the programme is set to be extended to other schools in the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust, of which St Wilfrid's is one.

But in order for the project to remain free for families, sponsorship partners are needed.

Anita Bath, chief executive of the Trust, said: “We are looking for supermarkets and other suppliers to offer practical support to enable us to establish this important venture.

“We are also keen to develop our whole class cooking curriculum with the aim that all Bishop Berwick children leave primary school able to make a range of simple, healthy dishes."

Attracting parents and grandparents along with pupils, the Family Cookery Club ran four classes over six weeks. Portable hobs, technical help and ingredients were all provided to ensure there was no cost to families taking part.

Head teacher of St Wilfrid’s, Pauline Johnstone, said: “We were aware that more families were accessing local food banks and our own school food bank, and we could see many families were not confident about making meals cooked from scratch on a budget.”

The first eight spaces were soon snapped up and those who took part were given recipe sheets to use at home after the sessions, with ingredients donated by suppliers.

Families chose the meals they wanted to cook and tried everything from fish curry to beef burritos. Some were taken home and others, like the cheeseburgers, did not make it out of the classroom.

Mrs Bath added: “Parents commented that they learned about the huge savings that could be made by cooking from scratch.

“One of the most important ‘takeaways’ was seeing how parents really enjoyed working with their children in a relaxed and positive setting. They also enjoyed working alongside other parents and having the chance to chat with someone they would not have met otherwise.”

Any companies which can help the Trust should email [email protected] or phone 0191 2747373.