YORK'S oldest secondary school is providing free breakfasts for more than 2,500 pupils.

All Saints RC School in South Bank has seen an increasing number of students arriving at school without having had breakfast before they leave home, for various reasons including financial pressures at home.

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As a result the school has been providing a breakfast bar to pupils to help start the day and they have received £500 from Tesco in the city after customers voted in the Tesco Stronger Starts blue token project.

Rebecca Kramm, chaplaincy coordinator at All Saints said: "We were delighted to receive a visit today from Jo Meier, the Community Champion at Tesco Extra, Askham Bar, to present us with a cheque for £500.

"There is a wide range of research which shows that eating breakfast positively affects school performance, with students having better concentration and more energy.

"This funding from Tesco will allow us to provide breakfast bars for over 2,500 students over the coming months. We are very grateful to all Tesco's customers who voted for us in stores."

All Saints is on a split site with Years 7, 8 and 9 taught in buildings behind the Bar Convent in Nunnery Lane and Years 10 to 13 at Mill Mount.

The school is rated outstanding by Ofsted and takes pupils from across York, Malton, Pocklington, Tadcaster, Pickering and Selby.