Pupils from Spittal Primary School enjoyed a traditional lunch and were joined on the special occasion by the council’s Chair of the Community and Enterprise Resources Committee, Councillor Robert Brown, and Head of Facilities, Waste and Grounds, Kevin Carr.

The school kitchens across South Lanarkshire prepared and served an amazing 1,270kg of turkey, 3,285kg of roast potatoes, 2,340kg of peas and 1,527kg of carrots.

Councillor Brown said: “It was great to share Christmas lunch with the pupils and hear how excited they were for Christmas – and of course a visit from a certain man in a red suit.

“The Spittal pupils were very friendly and chatty and extremely organised in putting their plates and cutlery back.

“The whole lunch ran like clockwork and is testimony to the hard work of all the kitchen staff, something which I know is replicated at schools across South Lanarkshire.

“Special mention must go to all the staff in the background as well who ensure each school gets enough to make sure the day is a special one for each child – no easy feat when you see the amount of food that was enjoyed by everyone!”

Kevin Carr said: “Preparing lunches on a daily basis is a huge undertaking but one which our Facilities teams across the area perform to an exceptionally high standard every day.

“I was delighted to be invited along to Spittal Primary School – and have to say compliments to the chef for a really tasty and nutritious lunch.”

As a special treat for pupils, they also received snowballs supplied by Tunnock’s. The Uddingston-based firm kindly donated four free cases for school Christmas lunches – more than 1,000 snowballs.