‘‘Funky Fridays’’ let the pupils be their own meal planners – for one day of the week, anyway.

Headteacher Janine Lees said: “It’s really boosting school meals. They can use menu and choose a meal from all the courses on offer, then the cook delivers it and cooks it for them.

“Each year group takes a turn and last Friday when we had Year One doing it we had an extra 25 pupils having a school meal.

“Yesterday it was Year Two’s turn and they chose sausages and pizza, which is always popular.” The initiative comes at a time when the county council is trying to encourage more pupils to get the free school meals they are entitled to.

Mrs Lees said: “We try and encourage as many parents as possible to take up free school meals for their children. It helps the school and it helps parents as well.

“We’ve now got fewer free school meal children than we used to have, but about five to six per cent more taking up our meals.”

She said the school also tried to support families that were “on the borderline” of qualifying.

l Free school meals leaflets, which include an application form, are available from the school reception.