PARENTS of students at a school in York have hit out claiming their children are missing out on food due to the lunchtime system in place.

Dozens of Year 7 pupils at Millthorpe School are not being fed at lunch time due to the priority of serving older children first and the queueing system, the parents said.

They said that by the time Year 7s reach the front of the queue, the bell rings to signal the start of their next lesson, so they are not getting food until they get home.

Millthorpe School's head teacher said lunch service had been very busy as an increased number of students returned to a new term.

But she stressed that no children had been denied food or the time to eat it, adding that staff always reassure students that they are able to take time to finish their lunch.

An anonymous parent, who submitted a complaint to Millthorpe School, said: "The Year 7s are being forced to go without lunch. This poses a serious risk to the health and wellbeing of the children.

"Multiple parents have contacted the school but nothing has been done. Instead, parents are simply sent a copy and pasted response.

"There are also instances where Year 7 children have been intimidated, threatened and even hit by older children whilst in the queue."

The parent said that they, along with others, have contacted form tutors, the head of year and head teacher as their children are going all day without eating, as well as coming home upset and with damaged belongings.

"The school has done nothing and is allowing the behaviour to continue unchecked. The staff need to act before dozens of Year 7s are withdrawn from the school over fears about their safety and wellbeing while studying there," they added.

Gemma Greenhalgh, headteacher at Millthorpe School, said that staff are working hard to explore ways to make the lunchtime experience "as pleasant as possible" for all of their students.

She said: "As is always the case when schools return after a summer break, we have had a couple of days where our lunch service has been very busy whilst our children get used to the dining facilities and lunch time routines. However, there has always been food available for all children, even at the end of lunchtime.

"No child is denied food or indeed the time to eat it. In fact, if students are still eating at the end of the lunch sitting, staff always reassure them that they are able to take time to finish their lunch. This is normal practice early in the academic year whilst the children and staff get used to the increased numbers.

"We do take parents' and students' feedback really seriously. In response to the feedback, our dining facilities are in the process of being completely refurbished to improve the service, capacity and overall experience for our pupils."