Kind-hearted headmaster to keep school open over Christmas to feed hungry pupils

Christmas is a time for giving – and a school headteacher has proved that belong a doubt after opting to keep his school open over the Christmas holidays to ensure his pupils do not go hungry.

Dedicated Nathan Atkinson has continued to dish out breakfasts and Christmas meals at his primary school despite term ending last week, as 70 percent of pupils are eligible for free school meals.

Mr Atkinson, who is the headteacher at Richmond Hill Primary School in Leeds, says he is on a mission to combat hunger and increase the concentration levels of all 600 students.

The 40-year-old said: ‘When I first came to Richmond Hill it quickly became obvious that there was an issue of people coming in hungry.

‘Kids would tell us that they were hungry.’

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He’s now established a pay-as-you-feel market stall outside the school for parents, along with a cafe where youngsters can get free food every morning.

Mr Atkinson says that he hopes to continue the initiative throughout the holidays, with a different member of staff manning the stall in the run up to Christmas Day.

Unsurprisingly, Mr Atkinson has been nominated for the prestigious £1 million Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize – but he says that it’s just all in a day’s work.

‘You just do what you’ve got to do. It’s our responsibility as educators, as teachers’, he said.

‘I just want to empower other people. I’ve cried a few times though, I can tell you that.’