School building projects in the Biggleswade area help fund free school meals for children in Burundi
Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) has engaged Vertis to build new classrooms and school facilities for two schools in the Biggleswade area – Sutton V.A. Primary School and Northill CofE Academy.
As a direct result of these two school projects, Vertis has recently donated 140,000 meals, as part of our charitable giving, to a school in Burundi, a small country the size of Wales in Central Africa.
For Sutton V. A. Primary, Vertis helped to transform the school, then known as Sutton Lower School, into a two-tier primary. Over a five-year period, we built two outdoor classrooms, a new hall, multi-use games area (MUGA) and completed the refurbishment and upgrade of the entire school.
The Northill CofE Academy project due to commence in April 2025, will see Vertis creating a larger hall, which can be used for PE lessons, dining, assemblies, and school performances. This includes a new kitchen area to provide space for the school to prepare healthy and nutritious meals. New toilet facilities will also be provided.
In the UK, the value of healthy eating and in particular the provision of free school meals in Early Years and Key Stage 1, is well known as a means of improving learning outcomes in schools. Our MD, Craig Riley, has seen first-hand the stark difference in schooling a few years ago in Burundi. A lack of food was having a huge impact on the children’s life and education. Without food at school, their families often struggled to feed them and all too often, children would be taken out of school to help their families earn money to survive.
“During my visit, I committed to support the feeding of Future Hope Primary School’s 350 children near Gitega, Burundi. We formed a long-term partnership with Great Lakes Outreach (GLO), providing the funding necessary to ensure every child is fed and can carry on being educated in this vibrant country.” explains Craig.
The funding provides two meals a day, a mid-morning breakfast and lunch, for 350 children every school day all year-round. Since 2017 Vertis has donated over a half a million meals to support children’s learning in this country, the world’s poorest nation. The partnership with CBC itself has secured free school meals for 350 children every school day in 2025.
"The transition from a three-tier to a two-tier education system in Central Bedfordshire is delivering significant benefits for our local communities and, in the case of Sutton and Northill primary schools, is ensuring that children receive an excellent education in purpose-built environments designed to meet their needs.
"It is also inspiring to see how this work is having a positive impact beyond our borders. The partnership with Vertis has not only helped transform local schools but is also supporting the education and wellbeing of children in Burundi. Knowing that our school building projects have contributed to providing free school meals for 350 children every day is something we can all be incredibly proud of, demonstrating how investment in education can create life-changing opportunities for children everywhere." Cllr Steve Owen, Central Bedfordshire Council’s Executive Member for Children’s Services and Community Safety.
Find out more and watch a short video about the Burundi programme here.