He’s the celebrity chef who revolutionised school dinners - and now Jamie Oliver has turned his attention to energy drinks. 

Along with parents, academics, the NEU teaching union and teachers from Educating Yorkshire and Educating Essex, Oliver is calling on health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, to ban under-16s from buying energy drinks. 

On every energy drink is a label that says “not recommended for children” and yet 69 per cent of UK adolescents and 24 per cent of under 10s are consuming them on a regular basis. 

Energy drinks for breakfast

Schools have taken steps to ban them, but research shows that one in 20 children have one for breakfast and 41 per cent of Scottish 13 to 15-year-olds buy a sugary drink - including fizzy and energy drinks - on their lunch break. 

Oliver’s campaign said: “They’re packed with caffeine and sugar and kids can buy them for as little as 25p. As well as being very bad for their health, this is causing a huge disruption in schools.” 

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