CYP Now - Interview: For the health of Hackney - David Daniels, principal, Petchey Academy

Food at the Petchey Academy in Hackney, east London, is strictly policed. "Students are not allowed to bring food into the academy, they can only bring water or fruit," says David Daniels, the principal. "They all have to eat the midday meal, though they have a choice of meat or veg."

Daniels adds that the school's two chefs will cater for students from different religious denominations by offering alternatives, such as Halal.

It's hardly surprising the Petchey Academy - opened officially by Children's Secretary Ed Balls in mid-May - is choosy about the food its students consume, considering its curriculum focuses on health, care and medical sciences. Its facilities include a sports hall, all-weather pitches and a jogging track.

Daniels says that, in the course of its development, the academy drew on the youth work experience of one of its key funders, the Jack Petchey Foundation.

"There are no rose-tinted spectacles," he says. "The children come from areas in need of rejuvenation. Just because we put the children in smart buildings and a smart uniform, we can't expect them to behave like public school children."

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