Really?

I was very surprised to read this article.
Apparently "cash strapped Bits" can't afford to eat healthily.
I'm sorry, but it should say lazy Brits can't afford to eat healthily. During my adult life there have been several times when cash has been tight, but I have always been able to put a decent meal on the table.
I will hazard a guess that it a question of priorities.
When I was young, my parents weren't flush, but they got by. Mum and Dad's first priority was that we ate well.  This was put before other luxuries.  There was always enough food, even if we didn't have the latest trend in clothes, or any other consumer "must haves", that are only "must haves" due to advertising bombardment for the particular product.
I am so glad my parents had this outlook on life, as it rubbed off on me.
At one time whilst I was married my husband was made redundant, and it was a good three months before we were in a position where we absolutely had to go shopping for store cupboard staples, thanks to a chest freezer and a garage where we stocked sacks of veg, and fruit.  We also grew veg in our garden, and soft fruits.
All the meals I made were from basic ingredients, the only tinned products I regularly used were tinned tomatoes, and my children did like the occasional meal of baked beans.
It is a myth that baking meals from scratch is expensive.  Granted setting up a store cupboard takes time and doesn't happen over night, but I suspect the people who opt for ready meals are lazy, or were not brought up with the same basic principles I was.
In answer to your question, did I take cookery as an exam subject, the answer is no. Taking food/cookery as an exam is a whole different blog post.
The government have scrapped their "license to cook scheme" which is a great pity.  Our food teacher still follows the rough guidelines, but then again, she was on the right track before it was introduced. Again, another topic for another post.

Changing governments = changing policies

I am not going to cover the normal gripes most people have about "changing policies", however, I sometimes wonder about the thinking behind the decisions.
Back in 2008 the government started to roll out a new initiative in secondary education. The initiative was called "License to cook", and the idea behind it was that from ages 11-14 pupils would learn a variety of skills used in cooking, and make good consumable foods using these skills. I went with our food teacher to a meeting about this. And since then we have been using the recipes in the school I work in. The recipe cover basic "pizza toasts" and smoothies, up to making curries and pizzas. In other words, the full range of cooking is covered. These lessons have been very popular with the children, meaning that they are making foods they know and love for themselves.
Sounds great doesn't it, and this September the initiative was to become compulsory for all 11-14 year olds. The upshot being, no child would leave school unable to make their own meals. There were to be nationally recognised certificates at the end of each year, so that children who didn't wish to take food education any further would still have a sound basic education and certificates to prove it.
You probably think there is nothing wrong with that idea at all, and especially at a time when less and less people seem to be capable of cooking a meal for themselves, preferring to buy ready meals or takeaways. I agree, it WAS a great idea..........
SO......
That will be why the current government have decided to shut down the website, and no longer make the teaching of certain food skills in schools compulsory. At the school I work at, this isn't a problem, but in areas where the initiative never even started, those children are missing out, especially if they don't have an inspirational food teacher, like the one I am technician for.

The government have possibly contributed to health problems in the future by scrapping this scheme.
There is no active link, to the recipes etc any more. Oliver took a copy of the disc I had been given, with him to university, and managed to self-cater for himself throughout his Masters, and when he was at the school I work at he cooked four times, in two years, making very unappetising dishes (It was a different teacher then)