School Meals
HCL provides all our meals. As professionals in nutrition and catering, we make it our priority for parents to trust HCL to provide great menus that support your best interest in your children’s health and well-being. Our menus for secondary schools are carefully planned to provide maximum taste, premium quality, and fantastic value throughout the whole school day. Our food menus offer an enticing mix of traditional meals, along with popular, innovative international dishes and snacks. HCL is proudly committed to introducing new tastes and new produce into our menus.
Theme Days and Concepts
During the academic year, we run several themed days to keep school lunches exciting and to encourage students to explore their tastes. We believe it is essential to bring awareness and embrace diversity through traditional cuisines. We continue to receive great responses from students who enjoy the change of menus, as it keeps them intrigued and provides a great opportunity for them to try new dishes. Previous theme days have included Turkish, Mexican, Spanish, Indian and Chinese dishes that give restaurant quality.
Benefits of School Lunch
We understand that when students reach secondary school, life becomes so much more demanding. Whether that be hurrying to the next lesson, fitting in into an extra sports activity, or rushing to spend time with valued friends. We understand that some students have not got the time to sit down and eat a two-course meal each day. Not having the time should not exclude students from having all the benefits of eating good food at school. That is why most of our great-tasting menu items include chilled range and hot handheld options.
We provide tasty main meal dishes from our HCL Signature Menu, including vegetarian and vegan options.
Menu
Our Food concepts include a Jacket Potato Bar with various toppings, World Press Panini and Wraps with a variety of delicious fillings. The inspiring ‘World Food Fest’ encompasses cultural dishes from around the world and, lastly, our incredible Grab & Go selections for quicker lunches are found in the chiller range.
Contact | cottesloe@hcl.co.uk
Help with paying for school meals may be available. Please see our Pupil Premium page for more information.
Recruitment
Working for HCL, you may already have experience in food preparation, or you just have an interest in serving attractive and healthier food choices for school pupils in your area – we have vacancies to suit most people who would like to work for HCL, an award-winning specialist caterer.
We will provide you with full training, personal development, part-time and term-time only (so you can have the holidays off to fit in with your family life), pension, on-the-job support and discounts that can save you £100s each year!
Positions are available in both Primary and Secondary Schools, and our recruitment team is waiting to hear from you right now! The work is demanding but just as rewarding, and best of all, you can fit it around your life. Join our friendly team, and we will give you all the support and encouragement you need to feel right at home.
Find out more and apply for any of our latest vacancies at https://vacancies.hcl.co.uk/ or contact us on social media for any queries.
Free School Meals
The Government is changing the way that Free School Meals (FSM) are funded.
From September 2026, all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit attending school will be entitled to receive a free meal. From September 2026, there will be two categories of benefits-based Free School Meals (FSM):
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Targeted FSM: For students in families who are in households in receipt of Universal Credit with annual earnings of £7,400 or less.
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Expanded FSM: A new category covering students who do not qualify for Targeted FSM, but who are in households receiving Universal Credit.
All students who currently receive free school meals will continue to do so until the end of the Summer term 2026, at which point the current transitional protections will end. From the start of the new school year in September, households must meet the new criteria to receive provision.
If you think you may be eligible, please complete this form: Sept 2026 FSM Application by 10th July 2026. This will ensure your child’s claim is processed in time for the start of the new term. You can apply later, but we cannot guarantee the application will be processed before the start of the new academic year.
Frequently Asked Questions
My child currently receives Free School Meals. Do I need to do anything? Yes. To continue receiving free meals from 1st September 2026, all families must re-apply so eligibility can be re-checked against the new system.
My child does not currently receive Free School Meals, but I receive Universal Credit. Should I apply? Yes. The new Expanded FSM category means that if you currently receive Universal Credit and your net income is above £7,400, your child is now eligible for a free school meal.
I think I am entitled to apply but haven’t before. What should I do? Please apply! If your household meets the criteria, your child will be registered to receive a free meal from September.
Free school meals are available for all students in full-time education. If you think your child/ren may be eligible, please contact the school office for advice on how to apply. There are several ways the school can support those students eligible for free school meals, so if your circumstances have changed, please consider applying.
Students who are eligible also attract Pupil Premium funding to the school. This funding pays for initiatives and interventions designed to support students' learning and achievement.
Those approved for Free School Meals will automatically have credit applied to their account daily.
If you feel your child is eligible for free school meals, please contact office@cottesloe.bucks.sch.uk, and they will assist you further.
Payment System
The school uses MCAS to collect all payments, including payments for food.
If you have not received a letter to set up MCAS, please contact the school office who will arrange for one to be sent out.
If you already have an MCAS account with another school, you can easily transfer it to The Cottesloe School; please log in to MCAS and follow the instructions.