July 16, 2025 07:48am
Across the Thinking Schools Academy Trust, Pupil Voice plays a key role in shaping the school experience, and Furzeham pupils recently turned one of their ideas into an exciting, healthy, and hands-on learning event.
After discussions in their Pupil Voice group, Furzeham pupils suggested creating a fun and engaging activity to promote healthy eating. The result? A smoothie bike challenge.
Pupils explored the benefits of fruit and vegetables, picked their own fresh ingredients, and then hopped onto a stationary bike that powered a blender using pedal power to turn their recipes into delicious, healthy smoothies.
This brilliant event was delivered by Furzeham’s in-house catering team, Thinking Food Jr, in partnership with Educatering. The pupil-influenced activity will help young people to develop their understanding of living healthy lives and activities such as this will help them lead healthy lifestyles in the future.
After sampling a colourful array of fruity creations, pupils cast their votes for the day's favourite recipe. The winning "Sunshine Smoothie” was designed by Kacey and Jaxon from Year 5 and included pineapple, banana, orange juice, ginger, and lime. Their refreshing combination will be added to the school menu this Autumn.
Reflecting on the event, pupil Jaxon said:
“We loved that we could choose our own fruit and other ingredients, there were lots to choose from. We had a go on the bike, and it was fun. Hopefully we are going to have a smoothie on our menu for a dessert.”
Hollie Thompson, Year 5 teacher at Furzeham Primary School shared:
“This was a fantastic example of Pupil Voice in action. The children absolutely loved it. They were talking about their recipes all day and seeing how proud they were of their smoothies was just lovely. It is such a great way to make healthy eating fun and memorable.”
Sue Lewis at Educatering also praised the initiative, adding:
“It was brilliant to see the enthusiasm and creativity from the pupils and the smoothies were genuinely delicious! The bike challenge added a great sense of fun and energy, and the idea of students helping to shape their own school menu is exactly the kind of engagement we love to support.”
