A fundraising campaign that was pioneered in Gloucestershire has now gone nationwide and gained the support of celebrities such as JLS, the Saturdays and Les Ferdinand.

The Really Good School Dinner is a partnership campaign between the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the School Food Trust. The campaign is being held this week (25-29 January) and schoolchildren across the UK are being asked to pledge 10p each time they have a school meal to provide a nutritious meal for a child in the developing world.

Gloucestershire’s Healthy School Team came up with the idea for the Buy 1 Give 1 Free initiative in 2007. Pupils from 54 schools gave 11p each time they bought their school lunch and raised £5144.26, which translated into 46,766 extra children being fed and educated through the World Food Programme’s Education Feeding Programme. WFP were so impressed with this effort, they sent their representative, Greg Barrow, to Gloucestershire to meet pupils from some of the schools that took part and to receive the cheque.

Cllr Jackie Hall, Cabinet Member for Schools, said: “I am delighted that Gloucestershire’s successful fundraising campaign three years ago has been developed into a national campaign. “We have run the campaign every year since 2007 and have raised thousands of pounds. Gloucestershire pupils have not only donated money but have also come up with lots of creative ways of raising even more money for children less advantaged than themselves.

“If pupils at other schools get behind this campaign as our pupils did, I am sure that it will be a resounding success.”