FREE school meals should be offered to all children in their first years of secondary school, according to one of the leading nutrition experts in the UK.

New research by experts at Newcastle University has shown that despite improvement in school lunches, fewer pre-teens are benefiting because less of them eat school lunches than children in primary schools.

Led by Ashley Adamson, Professor of Public Health Nutrition, the team analysed more than 500 children aged 11-12 at six Northumberland middle schools to assess the impact of the healthy school food standards, which were introduced in 2009.

Prof Adamson’s team found that both before and after the policy change, 11-12 year olds eating school lunches were eating less saturated fat and less salt at lunchtime.

In children’s overall diet, the findings show that before the change in 1999-2000 children eating a school lunch had higher per cent energy from fat compared to children eating a home-packed lunch.

However, after the change in 2009, children eating a school lunch received less of their energy from fat than children eating a home-packed lunch and ate less salt.

Professor Adamson, who was one of the advisors for the School Food Plan launched in 2013, said 11-12 year olds are more exposed to food marketing, which means that the food culture of pre-teens is more likely to include fast foods and unhealthy snacks.

The number of 11-12 year olds eating a packed lunch increased from 19 per cent to 54 per cent after the policy change in 2009.

By contrast, now in areas of the North-East, more than 90 per cent of primary school children are now eating a school lunch and from September this year all children in their first three years in school can have a free school meal.