This is such a stupid question - but, lunches?!

Worked in loads of secondary schools. Nobody polices the lunch boxes and plenty do take their own in. The only time it would draw attention is if they we're taking multipacks of crisps and chocolate in and selling them to other kids. That's happened a few times with the more entrepreneurial types.

Lunch box with a sandwich, some veg sticks, a piece of fruit and a treat eg a penguin/Goodies bar.

Sometimes an apple goes back and forth for a week... I'm an optimist
I put it in a pie over the weekend

Sandwich or wrap in foil (to be screwed up and put in blazer pocket to bring home) plus crisps and cereal bar. All eaten at morning break (11am) as lunch break is too busy.
No lunchbox in secondary! Mine had designated area to eat outside then move on.

And always a really substantial snack for when they get home, although for mine that's the same as in primary

Sorry - meant to say the main lunch in flask is about £1-1.50. With snack etc it's about the same as school dinners.

I used to do a wide necked flask for DS. 1/2 rice pack (works out at under 40p) with some peas and sweetcorn, topped mainly with left over dinner from night before - chicken thighs or ragout sauce etc. Or I'd cook up some chorizo and onion and tomatoes to go on top. Then added a nakd bar or similar and an apple. Total cost about £1-1.50. Add a piece of fruit or healthy snack bar if they are still hungry.

I have ceoliacs and my kids have never really gotten into sandwhiches. I heat up gluten-free chicken nuggets for my son or mini sausages and send them in a foil bag so they stay warmish. Not ideal I know but he also won’t each fruit or veg during school time and at least I can make sure I use good quality chicken or healthish sausages.

I am baffled that a secondary school has a food policy like that. How do they even police it ? I assume they must have to sit in the lunch hall for their lunch?

I like the idea of flasks, if the cafe is closed when they go back. Can anyone recommend one please?

That was packed lunches, but when he had access to the canteen I put £7 a day on max and he'd usually have a panini at lunchtime and a pudding plus a croissant at morning break, and a couple of flavoured water cans. He didn't spend the full amount usually, just occasionally when he liked to treat his friends. Not sure yet what the lunch arrangements will be when he goes back.

One would typically have a ham and cream cheese wrap, mini baby bel, carrot sticks and apple slices and a yoghurt, the other would have pasta pesto, raisins, yoghurt, carrot sticks and carrot cake. Both like little cartons of apple juice or orange juice.

Mine have sandwich or pasta, biscuit, fruit or veg and crisps or popcorn. choc bar on a Friday instead of biscuit.

Both my secondary aged children use a plastic lunchbox, as do many of the students in my school. Some have the fabric type or flasks. We don't police the food, although I have been known to mention that bags of haribo are not the best first thing in the morning!

Ds had a slice of pizza which cost £1.25 per day or potato wedges for £1. The rest of his lunch allowance was spent on slushes, hot chocolates or muffins.

He usually took a bag of crisps or two with him from home. I tried to get him to eat healthier stuff but it was pointless.

I don’t have a secondary aged kid but for my five year old at holiday club I sometimes do meatballs and pasta which he eats hot. I bought one of those food thermos flask things and I felt better that he was eating something warm in the Autumn half term. It didn’t leak either. I obviously have a child portion sized one with cute monkeys on, which wouldn’t go well at secondary... they do adult sized ones too. Just if they wanted something hot and would be cheaper to batch cook like that and do a chilli, bolognaise, meatballs or soup with a crusty roll.

I don't spend £11 per child for a week of packed lunches, and that's the cost in the OP, I think they cost more than that at DS's school. So school lunches are definitely not cheaper for me.

School lunches are cheaper than packed lunches by the time you've bought the stuff.

Weall my ds is like that! Ate a roll and cereal bar at break and roll cucumber and crisps at lunch!

He was training 6 times a week in the pool though and I think his metabolism was just high!

Back to training again now and back 5 times a week next week. Starts college. Will be interesting to see what he wants!

No crisps or chocolate.

Surely that's half a teens lunch?

Ds took roll. I used to fill plastic tubs with lettuce, cucumber, cheese, ham, tuna mayo and he'd make a baguette or some rolls every day.

He also took crisps, cucumber, and cereal bar.

All in a systems plastic box.

Do they like pasta salad? Ds took that sometimes. Can be cold or hot in thermos.
It's also quite filling.

I'd send something sweet like cereal bar/flapjack etc.

My two have always taken a sandwich (usually in a baguette as it doesn't get squashed and soggy like slices tend to) and a Nakd bar (which counts as one of 5 a day but is still a bit of a treat!)

Ds takes a sistema bento lunch box and has a sandwich, fruit and a biscuit item. He takes a brioche finger roll for morning break. Dd has a tub too and takes a wrap or a sausage roll or a scotch pie plus fruit and a biscuit bar/mini bag of biscuits.

Skinny Ds eats like a horse. He has a huge bowl of Porridge with a large banana and glass of fruit juice for breakfast at 7:30. At morning breaktime 11:15 he is hungry and has a well stuffed wrap with chicken/cheese and/or ham, salad and a sauce (bbq, Hoisin, sweet chilli) and that is before lunch! We find wraps better as he is more likely to eat salad in them if flavoured with sauce than sandwiches.

His classmates mostly have crisps for break and he gets laughed at daily for having a wrap but is confident enough to just laugh back and say he's hungry!

He sometimes buys chicken wraps and hot chocolate at school too.