HUNDREDS of schools in the North West are expected to benefit from a new set of standards for all food served in pupils.

The new guidelines are designed to make it easier for school cooks to create imaginative, flexible and nutritious menus. They will be mandatory in all maintained schools, and new academies and free schools.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said the new standards will mean pupils will eat healthily.

The new standards include: • One or more portions of vegetables or salad as an accompaniment every day • At least three different fruits, and three different vegetables each week • An emphasis on wholegrain foods in place of refined carbohydrates