When King Henry VIII 3 -19 School in Abergavenny, Wales, moved into its new modern campus, it brought the primary, secondary and sixth form provision together under one roof for the first time.
Having supported the school with monitoring services for many years, Litmus was asked to help plan, procure and mobilise high-quality catering and cleaning services to match the ambition of the new site.
Managing a complex move
Previously split across two sites, the move to a single campus brought huge opportunity but also operational complexity. We worked closely with the school, contractors and stakeholders to manage the tender process for both catering and cleaning – attending site visits, liaising with the bidding service providers and helping ensure the specifications reflected scale, expectations and performance needs. With a new-build environment, early standards of cleaning were particularly critical.
We also helped shape staffing structures and embed KPIs within the contracts to ensure accountability and quality from day one.
Delivering a high-quality, age-appropriate catering offer
With students aged 3 to 19 now sharing the same building, the catering offer needed to serve multiple age groups effectively. We supported the creation of:
- A compliant and engaging primary dining offer
- A contemporary secondary service, including grab-and-go and sit-down options
- A more mature sixth form space with café-style appeal
All branding and design aligned with the modern feel of the new building. Sustainability was also central to the brief, aligning with the school’s zero-carbon ambition and covering areas such as waste reduction, composting and recycling.
Navigating additional layers of complexity
Additional complexity arose during the transition from local authority provision to an outsourced catering model, particularly regarding Universal Primary Free School Meal funding, as well as transitioning staff from council provision into an outsourced model. Litmus supported the school to ensure this process was smooth, compliant and well-managed.
As an all-through school, the tender also needed to meet Welsh food standards while catering for a wide age range, alongside integrating teams from previously separate sites.
Mobilisation and ongoing support
The catering and cleaning tenders were awarded in January 2025, and we continued to support mobilisation through to April 2025 via regular site visits. We continue to monitor catering performance to support ongoing improvements to the food offer. This includes expanding the sixth-form provision to better reflect a more mature dining experience, ensuring suitable salad bar options for primary pupils, and continually developing secondary menus and counter layouts.
Headteacher Jonathan Watson said: “Litmus played a truly instrumental role in helping us prepare for and transition into our new campus. Their guidance and expertise throughout the tender, mobilisation and monitoring stages have made a real difference and ensured our services reflect the quality of our new building.”
The Litmus team
