HUNDREDS of youngsters at two York primary schools got a five star treatment at breakfast time thanks to a partnership with a city centre hotel and restaurant.

The Grand Hotel and Spa is offering every child at the Federation of Hob Moor Oaks special school and Hob Moor school in Acomb a free breakfast in the mornings.

To launch the new scheme there was a special ‘ very grand breakfast’ event at Hob Moor yesterday before the school day began when staff from the Grand took over the school kitchen to provide a free breakfast to pupils and their families in the dining hall.

The hotel’s head chef, Craig Atchinson and his team cooked and helped serve pupils their breakfast and donated equipment to support the campaign.

Hob Moor is a Federation school combining a mainstream primary and a primary special school which teaches children with both disabilities, learning difficulties and those who come from a range of backgrounds.

Kayleigh Chambers from Hob Moor Oaks and Hob Moor Community Primary School said: “Our research showed that a proportion of our children did not eat before coming to school and this was affecting their readiness for learning.

“We are so grateful that The Grand Hotel have stepped in to help support us deliver this wonderful project.”

Mr Atchinson said: “We want to encourage children to enjoy breakfast. It’s an enjoyable and a healthy way to start the day.

“We hope to help raise more awareness around York to encourage people to support this great cause and generate more funding in the community to help Hob Moor continue to deliver this project.”

Ben Morcombe is deputy general manager at The Grand.

He said: “We were blown away with the level of dedication teachers and staff are showing for their children and community.

“We are excited at the prospect of working with the schools to spend more time with pupils to help educate them about a future in hospitality and the many opportunities out there despite their background or ability.”

Hob Moor Federation has worked with the charity Magic Breakfast to ensure every child is offered a healthy breakfast prior to the school day starting.

Due to the success of this the Federation has continued to offer breakfast to more than 400 children ever since.

The Grand Hotel and Spa is York’s only 5 Star hotel and home to 3 AA Rosette restaurant, Hudson’s opposite the city walls on Station Rise.

Magic Breakfast is a charity aiming to end hunger as a barrier to education in UK schools.

Yesterday’s event started at 8.15am and run until about 9.30, although most of the children were served before 8.50am so they could get to class.