Students at primary school now have something to look forward to every morning at school - breakfast!

The Coalition for the Protection of Children (CPC), launched its new programme, 'Breakfast for Every Child' at Victor Scott Primary School on Monday.

Every day between 7.45 a.m. and 8.30 a.m., between 50 and 70 students chow down on milk, cereal, juice, yoghurt, fruit and granola bars.

Sheelagh Cooper, chairperson for CPC, explained the programme developed after serving breakfast for families in need for many years.

"We have a storehouse here at the Coalition for breakfast food," Mrs. Cooper said. "We have always wanted to provide breakfast right at the school so it would be available for more children at once as it is much more efficient.

"Research certainly shows that schools which have breakfast programmes have a better school climate. The students learn better and have a better attitude towards learning. It's been a dream of mine for some time and we are finally able to do it at Victor Scott."

When asked why the school was chosen, Mrs. Cooper said its principal, Dr. Gina Tucker, is open and caring about her students.

"She was able to see the real value of doing it. She has a real commitment to excellence and education so this was a good complement to her school programme to give every child an equal footing to begin their day."

Mrs. Cooper said she would love to implement the programme at other schools but funding is still a stumbling block.

"We can expand the proramme, if we get more sponsorship," she said. "We'd love to expand it to other schools but it will depend on funding and partnering with people in the community. It's the first of its kind in Bermuda and it can make a difference."

Mrs. Cooper said the main sponsor, Dunkley's Dairy, is providing the milk, cereal, juice and yoghurt free for the children and Habitat for Humanity Bermuda renovated the school's kitchen.

She also said the parents are very happy about their children receiving breakfast free of charge every morning and the students love it.

Mrs. Cooper added: "Eating a nutritious breakfast is one of the key factors contributing to the academic success of any child. In addition, recent studies have shown that obesity is on the rise in Bermuda and that a healthy breakfast plays a prominent role in maintaining a healthy weight.

"The response from the children has been phenomenal and we will be assessing the impact of the 'Breakfast for Every Child' programme has on the students' willingness and ability to learn as well as certain behavioural measures.

"We are expecting an improvement in these areas and we have set up a pre and post test that will be administered to the teachers in this connection."