School Milk – Did you Love it or Loathe it?

World School Milk Day is held around the world on the last Wednesday in September to celebrate the benefits and success of school milk programmes.

For generations of British schoolchildren, school milk was as much a part of the daily routine as playtime or assembly.

If you went to school in the UK from the 1940s to the late 1980s, the memory of those small, third-pint bottles of milk, often served lukewarm from a crate, is likely etched in your mind—whether with fondness or disdain.

Some recall school milk fondly, eagerly awaiting break to enjoy the small glass bottles. The cold milk with its creamy top was a treat, especially in the era of simpler diets. But not everyone remembers school milk so favourably. By the time break came, the milk had often sat in crates for hours, turning lukewarm – sometimes sour.

Did you love school milk or was drinking it a daily struggle?

In 1971, then-Education Secretary Margaret Thatcher cut free milk for children over seven, earning the infamous nickname “Thatcher, the Milk Snatcher.” This was divisive but by the late 1980s school milk had largely disappeared from daily life.

Whether loved or loathed, school milk remains a vivid, shared memory which sparks nostalgia and debate!

Find out more about World School Milk Day and the benefits of milk to children here.