LONG gone are the days of students stirring some stale milk into a stained mug of instant coffee granules.
A chance to grab a skinny latte or caramel Americano between lessons is now the way with sixth-formers at St Martins School.
They returned to the Hanging Hill Lane secondary school after the summer holiday to find their own branch of Costa Coffee was up and running in their sixth-form centre.
Selling a full range of drinks that can be found in any High Street branch, the Costa concession is believed to be the first set up in an Essex school.
The bar sells coffee, tea and hot chocolate, and is so popular that takings are about £185 a week.
The school takes 50 per cent of the profits.
The coffee bar operates under a licence, rather than a franchise, and is just one of a new range of catering initiatives started by Pabulum – the school's new catering provider.
The quality of the beverages is to Costa's standards, but it is allowed to sell non-Costa Coffee food, such as cakes, muffins, sandwiches and wraps.
Student Lauren Lane, 17 said: "It's a lot better than it was before. The hot chocolate is really nice. The bar is a welcome addition to the school – the taste and flavours are really nice."
Linda Sutton, one of the Costa Coffee baristas, said: "By far the most popular drink is hot chocolate and then after that it's lattes and cappuccinos. The students really seem to appreciate having a Costa Coffee."
Executive chef Jack Styles told the Gazette: "We asked a focus group of students what they wanted to see in terms of catering at the school and a coffee concession for sixth-formers was top of the list.
"We have an independent licence agreement with Costa and the drinks we make up are exactly the same as you would find in the High Street – we use their machine beans, sugar, syrups etc.
"We have strict quality control but we are able to sell them at reduced prices to suit students' budgets.
"It has proved very popular and we are very busy at break and lunchtimes."
Hot drinks prices range from £1.50 to £1.80, and are sold alongside sandwiches, cakes and biscuits made by the caterers themselves.
