Truro School has announced plans to create a new cookery school which will be the only Leiths Academy School in Cornwall and Devon.

This comes after the school joined the Leiths School of Food and Wine’s Academy programme.

It will mean that alongside providing food technology as a co-curricular activity throughout the year groups, students in the lower sixth will be able to enrol on the Leiths Introductory Certificate in Food and Wine, a professionally recognised qualification.

The development is part of the school's Education for Life plan to provide valuable life skills, meeting the school’s strategic objective of preparing students for the real world. The school believes giving pupils the chance to cook will help them become better prepared for adult life.

Headmaster Andrew Gordon-Brown, said: “It is hard to overstate just how positive a move this is for Truro School. Food has a very high profile in Cornwall and all pupils need to have basic skills in food preparation and nutrition.”

In a purpose-built kitchen on the main campus, the cookery school will provide a range of opportunities for students, allowing them to develop into enthusiastic, confident and capable cooks. Any student who completes the Leiths introductory certificate will be included on the Leiths List, connecting them with private clients for holiday catering, events and dinner parties.

Leiths School of Food and Wine has an international reputation as a first-class cookery school and has trained TV chefs including Lorraine Pascale, Gizzi Erkskine and Matt Tebutt.

Alison Cavaliero, principal of Leiths Academy, said: "We look forward to working with the students and the new cookery school team sharing a love of good food, passing on skills for life and enjoying the very best ingredients Cornwall has to offer.”