Over a 12-day period covering the NATO Summit from September 4-5 held at The Celtic Manor in Newport, the Newport school meals team provided a staggering 28,500 packed lunches to police officers drafted in to provide security for the high-profile event.

Some schools in the Welsh town remained closed during the week, allowing their Compass Group catering teams, supplemented by Chartwells colleagues from other parts of the UK, to deliver the meals needed to feed the more than 9,000 police officers on duty before, during and after the summit.

It was the largest gathering of international leaders ever to take place in Britain, with Wales hosting a summit attended by leaders and senior ministers from more than 60 countries.

Of 61 schools in Newport, only five remained fully open, with others choosing to take September 4-5 as inset days or finishing early to cope with travel disruption expected by VIPs travelling to from the venue or from protesters.

At Mount Pleasant Primary School US President Barack Obama and British prime minister David Cameron paid a visit on September 4th ahead of the main day of talks.

Immediate past chair of LACA Anne Bull, a board member of LACA Ltd and the Welsh Region, said: “What a way to really let the global markets see what Wales has to offer, and what a way to start the new term.”