TEACHERS from Aberdeen City and Shire schools have become the first in Scotland to be awarded 'Good Food Champions' professional recognition by the General Teaching Council for Scotland.

The teachers were part of the programme’s inaugural year, which took them on a ‘soil to plate’ journey, covering all aspects of food education, from planting and harvesting through to manufacturing, food preparation and tasting

Participants went on trips to working farms, conducted their own research and attended educational seminars and tasting sessions. They also engaged with local experts and organisations, and are now successfully championing food-related learning in their schools.

Royal Highland Education Trust learning and development coordinator Sara Smith said: “We are delighted to award these teachers – the first in Scotland – with their Learning for Sustainability accreditation. As Good Food Champions, they will continue to share their ‘soil to plate’ learning in their schools and wider communities.”

This year the Good Food Champions programme has been offered to teachers in Glasgow and Lanarkshire, as this was identified by providers as an area in need of more teaching training initiatives.

The partnership programme is made up of professionals from RHET, Soil Association Scotland, Scotland’s Rural College, The Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, Scottish Food and Drink Federation, Quality Meat Scotland, The Royal Northern Countryside Initiative and the Museum of Rural Life.