AD FEATURE: From bedtimes and homework to healthy snacks: kids debate the rules they want changed

From bedtimes and homework to healthy snacks: kids debate the rules they want changed When we handed the mic to some teenage schoolchildren, they didn't hold back… Too much homework, availability of free fruit at school, too-long break times (yes, really)… how do today’s kids feel about school life and its rules and regulations? To find out, and to give some of these children a chance to have their say, The Mirror visited Manchester Communication Academy (MCA) and spent a day with some of its students aged 13-15. MCA is one of over 1,000 UK schools taking part in Tesco’s Fruit & Veg for Schools programme, which supports schools by giving children free access to nutritious food. The initiative has already provided nearly 20 million portions of fruit and vegetables to more than 180,000 children in 500 schools across the UK. Tesco is now doubling the number of schools it supports, expanding the programme to more than 1,000, and there are plans to double it again from September 2027. Ultimately, the scheme aims to give one million children access to free fruit and vegetables. Let the debate commence When we sat down with a group of students from years 8-11, they were eager to share their views on nutrition and other hot topics around school life, such as homework. Perhaps to no one’s surprise, they’d like less of that - or even none. Rita Nadorozhniak, 13, said, “There should be no homework at all. We work too much in school to have work after school. You learn enough here.” When it came to break times, while most favoured these being longer, there were surprisingly some dissenting voices, such as Minahal Arshad, 15, who argued, “They should actually decrease them to 10 minutes rather than 15. Do you come to school for learning, or for break times and socialising?” Then we got on to school uniforms - good or bad? Thirteen-year-old Raida Rushen pointed out the risks of all the kids wearing civvies: “What if we're on a school trip and we're allowed to wear our clothes? Will the teachers be able to find us if we wander off?” But the recent heatwaves that saw us sweating through day after day have highlighted a problem with MCA’s choice of uniform. “I think they should change the colour, especially during the summer, because the jumper, blazer, trousers, everything is black,” said Minahal. And at a time when, nationally, only one in 10 children is eating their recommended five-a-day, nutrition was another major talking point, with near-unanimous agreement that access to fresh fruit can really help students boost their classroom performance. “Honestly, I think we should have fruit throughout the day,” said Minahal. “It hydrates you, it gives you energy and it's healthy.” “Yeah, I agree,“ chimed in Hussain Ali, 13. “Fruits like apples and bananas contain vitamins that will boost you all day long.” 'A big impact on us all' But the day wasn’t just about talk. We also got two competing teams to take on the Fruit & Veg Snack Challenge, creating the best fresh food platters to boost students' stamina and brainpower at exam time. In fact, these kids are no strangers to nutrition-related activities at school. MCA organises events such as Healthy Eating Week, as well as smoothie stalls using some of the fruit and veg supplied by Tesco. Some of the students have also been appointed as Food Ambassadors, whose duties include delivering the free fruit and veg to their schoolmates and helping to organise healthy-food related events throughout the year. It was a fun, but also an inspiring day. One of the students, 15-year-old Diana Fegbemi, probably spoke for all her schoolmates when she told us, “This isn’t something small, the work we do here to encourage each other to eat well - it has a big impact on us all.” Find out more Your child’s school could receive a grant of up to £1,500 to improve access to fruit and veg. To nominate it, see tescoplc.com