New College Lanarkshire is serving up a free breakfast for students, starting from Monday 21^st February.

The College’s three main campuses in Coatbridge, Cumbernauld and Motherwell will begin opening earlier for the ‘Breakfast is on Us’ service.

The move follows a successful pilot of a free breakfast offering at NCL’s Cumbernauld Campus immediately prior to lockdown in February 2020.

Scores of students accessed ‘Breakfast is on Us’ on each day of the pilot, with the College receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback.

The initiative aims to build on existing support for students in the return to face-to-face learning, and also help with the rising cost of living.

Students will be able to enjoy porridge, toast with butter and jam, and tea or coffee before starting their classes every morning.

It will be available at the following times:

• Motherwell Campus, Monday–Friday 8–8.45am, 1^st Floor Internet Café;
• Coatbridge Campus, 8.15am–9am, 1^st Floor Main Hall (take a right at the main entrance to the Refectory);
• Cumbernauld Campus, 8.15–9am, Main Refectory.

Sandra McLoughlan, Dean for Student Recruitment & Experience, said: “The health, safety and wellbeing of our students is of the highest importance to everyone here at NCL.

“So we’re delighted to roll out our ‘Breakfast is on Us’ service to provide sustenance for learners following a successful pilot at our Cumbernauld Campus.

“There is much research to show that skipping breakfast can affect short-term cognition and memory, so we have created this initiative to support our students’ mental and physical wellbeing and hope it will have a positive impact on their studies.

“We hope that students will take advantage of the initiative that reinforces our college-wide commitment to social justice and addressing food-related inequality.

“I would like to personally thank our Catering staff for their support in extending this initiative across our three main campuses.”

To find out more about the courses and services offered by New College Lanarkshire, please visit www.nclanarkshire.ac.uk or call 0300 555 8080.