School apology after bleak Christmas lunch photo goes viral

Parent Ciaran Walsh tweeted a photo of the "bleak" festive meal his children were served at school

Crispy roast potatoes, pigs in blankets and lots of gravy - all part of the perfect Christmas dinner, right?

Well spare a thought for students at Steyning Grammar School in West Sussex after a photo of their "bleak" Christmas lunch was shared on Twitter.

They were served a mince pie, dry bread roll, slice of turkey, single pig in blanket, and a tiny square of stuffing.

After the tweet went viral, the school apologised "unreservedly" and refunded parents for the £3.50 meal.

Parent Ciaran Walsh described the meal as "bleak" and wrote: "Thanks for the Christmas lunch served to our kids at Steyning Grammar yesterday, really filled them with festive cheer!"

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Twitter users responded to the photo calling the meal "unappetising" and "disgusting", while Ciaran compared it to the meagre food served up at Fyre Festival.

The Guardian reported the school initially defended the £3.50 meal in an email to parents, but after images went viral it sent out an email offering parents an apology and refund.

A school spokesperson told Newsbeat the lunch "was clearly not in line with the high standards we set for our school caterers, and we apologise unreservedly for this".

"Due to a combination of unforeseen supply chain issues and Covid-related staffing shortages, our planned lunch was affected at very short notice.

"As you would expect, we have now investigated this isolated matter fully and have apologised to all students and parents affected, together with providing a full refund."

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