A new pilot food school located at the historic Billingsgate Fish Market opened its doors to schools from Barking and Dagenham, as an introduction to the City of London Corporation’s vision for a permanent food school in the east London borough.

The City Corporation plans to open up a food school at the Market’s site in Dagenham to train future market traders. The Corporation hopes that the initiative will teach young people the skills needed to become butchers, fishmongers and fruiterers, all while strengthening the presence of market traders within the city.

The project was formed to complement the potential opening of a food hub in Barking Town centre.

Students from several primary and secondary schools from Barking and Dagenham took part in an introductory course at the pilot food school, which featured a tour of the wholesale fish market and covered a variety of topics. These included the nutritional benefits of fish, the role of fish in a healthy diet, the sustainability of the UK seafood industry, the different types of fish available in the UK and how to choose and prepare fish.

Councillor Darren Rodwell, leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, added: “We are committed to seeing real growth and investment coming into our borough, but we know this must have a real impact on our residents. Teaching our youngsters very early on about opportunities available to them means they are best placed to benefit from this growth.”

This follows news announced at the end of last year that Billingsgate Fish Market and Smithfield Meat Market are to move to a new site at Dagenham Docks. The move will see the City Corporation investing almost £1 billion into Barking and Dagenham.