🍽️ Catering at Ferndown Upper School
At our school, we take great pride in operating a dedicated in-house catering service. This allows us to maintain full control over our food offerings, ensuring a diverse and balanced menu that reflects the tastes and preferences of our students. By incorporating student feedback, we are able to provide high-quality meals at affordable prices while maintaining consistently high standards.
👨🍳 Freshly Made, Every Day
Our menus are carefully designed to reflect the seasons, student preferences and nutritional needs. Meals are prepared on site by our experienced chef and catering team, using fresh, wholesome ingredients and wherever possible, supporting local suppliers.
💡 What’s on the Menu?
Every day, students can enjoy a wide range of hot and cold options, including:
- Main Meal of the Day – Rotating favourites like homemade curry, lasagne or roast dinners.
- Grab & Go – Quick bites including chicken burgers, pizza slices, bagels and hash browns.
- Jacket Potatoes – Served with a choice of hot or cold fillings.
- Pasta Bar – Fresh hot pasta with a variety of tasty sauces.
- Salad Bar – Freshly made salads with proteins, vegetables and toppings.
- NEW: Sub Bar – Locally sourced sub rolls filled to order.
We regularly review our pricing to ensure it remains competitive and accessible for all families. Our main meal of the day consistently offers the best value, providing a nutritious, balanced option. We are also mindful of costs associated with healthy choices, and any price increases for fruit and salads are kept to a minimum to encourage healthy eating habits.
🍳 Breakfast Club – Open from 7:45 am
Our Breakfast Club helps students start the day right. We serve:
- Cereals
- Toast with butter, jam, or Marmite
- Bacon rolls
- Pastries
- Hot and cold drinks
Free School Meal (FSM) students receive cereal, toast and fruit juice, free of charge each morning.
🥗 Free School Meals (FSM)
We believe every student deserves a hot, nutritious meal. That’s why FSM students at FUS receive a higher daily allowance than the Government provides.
✅ Think you might be eligible?
Apply for Free School Meals – Dorset Council
Alternatively, you can contact us at school@fernup.dorset.sch.uk and provide your National Insurance number and we will check for you.
💳 Payment
To cater to our students’ needs, we allow several payment methods. Students can pay in the following ways.
- Pay using their biometric Bromcom account – which you can monitor and top up.
- Use a debit card or their phone to pay.
- Pay with cash.
⚠️ Allergen Awareness
Student safety is our top priority. All pre-packed food is clearly labelled with a full list of ingredients.
If your child has allergies, please encourage them to introduce themselves to our catering team, so we can make any necessary accommodations.
🌍 Eco-Friendly Commitment
We’re proud to be an ECO School, working hard to reduce our environmental impact by:
- Sourcing responsibly and seasonally
- We support local suppliers, contributing to the regional economy and reducing our carbon footprint.
- Minimising food waste
🌟 High Standards & 5-Star Rating
Our catering team is fully trained in:
- Food preparation and hygiene
- Food safety and allergy awareness
- Health & safety at work
We are proud to hold a 5-star food safety rating from the Environmental Health Agency and our team is always on hand with a smile.