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Survey reveals some British pupils have been eating rubbers for not affording lunch

A new survey on food poverty in British schools due to be published next month by Chefs in Schools has brought into the open that many schools in England are already seeing a "heartbreaking" increase in hungry children, even before winter and big energy bills force more families to choose between switching on the heating and buying food. Some British pupils are so hungry that they are eating rubbers or hiding in the playground by pretending to have their meals because they cannot afford lunch.

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Paul Gosling, president of the National Association of Headteachers union, said: "The government knows that when kids turn up in the morning hungry and cold, schools will step in and help. But it's not right that it's being left to us with no extra support." He said that with huge energy bills and an unfunded teacher pay rise, supporting desperate families would push hundreds of schools into deficit. Headteachers welcomed the government's announcement last week that electricity and gas in schools would be capped at a lower "government-supported price", knocking off £4,000 for a school paying £10,000 a month for energy. But they expressed anxiety that the cap is only being offered for six months, and warned that many schools will still be left with much higher bills than they budgeted for.