THE children’s menu at Gobowen’s Orthopaedic Hospital has had a redesign, thanks to the input from students at Llanfyllin High School.

The Catering team at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt (RJAH) Orthopaedic Hospital and Year 10 students at the school have joined forces to revamp the children’s menu for patients on Alice Ward, the children's unit.

The project came about through the school’s food and nutrition class, with the aim of creating a fun and nutritious menu that the students would want to eat themselves, while also improving the school’s links within the community.

Dan Hoggett, catering manager at RJAH; and Sian Langford, deputy facilities manager at RJAH; recently delivered some lessons to the class, ahead of the students coming into the hospital to try the dishes they designed.

The hospital’s dietitian Tony Twist also delivered a session on nutrition to the students.

Suzanne Marsden, Alice Ward manager, said the project was a fantastic opportunity to improve the overall experience on the ward.

She said: “We recently started to realise that our children’s menu needed an update and some fresh ideas.

“When Sian suggested us working alongside the students at Llanfyllin, I welcomed the opportunity.

“Adults think we know what the youngsters want to eat but actually, nobody knows that better than the young people themselves.

“Their input has been absolutely invaluable and is already making a big difference to our patients, who are enjoying the new items on the menu.

“Thank you to the students for their fantastic ideas.”

Robi Wood, head of design and technology at Llanfyllin High School, added: “It’s a real focus for us as a school to develop improved links with industry and the community.

“This project gave our students the chance to work on a live project in a real-life setting.

“Students enjoyed the experience of helping to design the hospital’s children’s menu and were thrilled that their ideas were taken on board, and in turn are doing something good for the hospital’s young patients.

“Thank you to the hospital for this fantastic opportunity, which students have found to be of real value to them.”