Food for thought as good nutrition for college's students bears fruit

Students at Bradford College were sent into the exam halls armed with a free bottle of water and piece of fruit while the canteen served free porridge while assessments were being carried out.

The idea was developed by healthy college manager Jane Marshall who is at the forefront of an initiative to ensure further education providers across the country are looking after the physical and mental well being of their staff and students.

"If you give your brain the right nutrients, you will be able to think quicker, have a better memory, be better coordinated and have improved concentration," she said.

"The key to boosting your brainpower and keeping your brain healthy are nutritious food, water and oxygen."

She was delivering this message on the importance of a good diet to sixth-form students ahead of their summer exams and is now getting positive feedback.

Ms Marshall said: "We wanted students to realise that what they eat on the day of the exams, could play a vital role in contributing to maximising exam performance.

"There's no point a student revising for months and months and then not eating properly on the day of the exam. This will have a massive effect on the outcome of their exam success."

Sixth form student Jayne Phiri said the improved diet had boosted her mental performance and alertness during the exams. "I found revising for my exams much easier. I'm able to concentrate more and what I'm reading seems to sink in a lot better. I'm no longer struggling. I actually wish I'd known about this two years ago.

"I feel I will definitely be more successful in my exams now. I've done more work than I'd normally do in terms of taking notes and revision."

Ms Marshall's role of Healthy College manager was created after she became concerned that FE colleges were falling behind schools in promoting the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Previously she had worked for the college as a personal trainer and gym instructor.

In 2007 Bradford College became the first in the country to create a role for someone to champion the importance of being healthy across the campus.

Now Ms Marshall is not only working with students across Bradford College but is also promoting the benefits of this way of working to colleges across the country.

As ambassador for healthy FE providers, she has helped to produce a guide for colleges to use when creating their own healthy college model.

She said: "I went to the principal with my idea for a healthy college manager because before I started there was there was nobody promoting this across the college. You might get a few little pockets in different areas of someone doing something just in their own area."