SCHOOL kitchens will get a £135,000 facelift as the council tries to fend off private predators.

Town hall bosses say the investment is vital if schools are to continue using the local authority's school meals service.

They also hope that creating more modern cafe-style areas will shorten queues, leading to more pupils taking school meals and thus bringing in more money.

The advent of Fair Funding allows high schools to buy in their meals from elsewhere.

Talks with head teachers showed that, to secure contracts for the next three to five years, investment was necessary. The council knew that several private companies were looking to win such contracts, and one of their main strategies was to promise such investment.

The money will pay for modernisation, seating and new equipment, as well as new menus.

The improvements are scheduled for all high schools except Prestwich and St Monica's. Around half of the borough's high schools have signed up to a complete Global Energy package of improvements of the kind pioneered at Elton High.

Figures show that the average number of pupils taking schools meals is 70 per cent, but it can be as low as 60 per cent in some schools. In contrast, sales at cash cafeterias have increased by 10 per cent in the last three years.

New and more efficient kitchen equipment is also to be installed at Elms Bank special school and at some primary schools: St Mark's, St Marie's, St John's and Emmanuel Holcombe.

The investment was agreed by members at Tuesday's (July 24) executive committee.