A group of schools in Essex has found a solution to Essex County Council's decision to end its collective provision of school meals (News, 4-10 February), but pupils will have to pay more.
The consortium of 15 schools has found a contractor to supply hot meals after the Easter break, but the cost will rise from 1.40 to 1.70 a day.
Judith Lunn, head teacher of Alderton Junior School, said the schools felt they had been forced into taking a decision that Essex County Council had avoided.
A spokesman for the council said: "The deal is a better one then we could have provided."
