‘Austerity Day’ menu criticised at top private school

ONE of the country’s leading girls’ schools has been criticised for holding an “Austerity Day” lunch where their usual Confit Duck was swapped for baked beans and potatoes.

St Paul’s Girls School in Hammersmith, west London, was ridiculed for serving “what is basically a standard school dinner” as part of the event.

The £25,000-a-year school announced on social media that “today was the final Austerity Day of the year”. The Twitter post, which has since been deleted, said: “Students and staff had baked potatoes, with beans and coleslaw, for lunch, with fruit for dessert.”

Georgia O’brien, a campaigns officer at the human rights charity Reprieve, said: “One of the country’s leading independent schools holding an ‘Austerity Day’ where students eat what basically amounts to a standard state school dinner.”

A spokesman for the school said: “For many years St Paul’s has arranged regular lunches when simple food is served and the money saved given to local charities. The aim is also to raise the awareness of our students to those less fortunate than themselves.”