School tuck shops and vending machines are to be stripped of junk food under a £2 million drive to tackle child obesity fuelled by unhealthy snacking.
Up to 200 schools will take part in a pilot project offering healthier foods at break time, such as fruit, milk and water instead of calorie-laden chocolate, crisps and fizzy drinks.
The schemes will vary across the country; some tuck shops are likely to offer only healthy food, while others give children the choice of 'good' and 'bad' options - and experiment with ways to persuade children to pick the healthier options.
Melanie Johnson, the Public Health Minister, is also expected to announce plans to make school canteen meals more attractive in order to discourage pupils from going out to buy chips and sweets.
The move comes amid unprecedented anxiety about childhood obesity, highlighted by The Observer's Fit for the Future campaign. But some experts believe improving school diets could also aid concentration in class, by reducing the amount of additives pupils eat.
When the head at Reed School in Surrey banned sweets and fizzy drinks from its tuck shop recently, he reported an improvement in pupils' behaviour as a result.
A Department of Health source said: 'Food currently provided in tuck shops does not always complement the curriculum and other messages around healthy eating.'
This week the Food Standards Agency will announce a public debate to be held at the end of January on what should be done: suggestions so far include curbs on the advertising of fatty and sugary food to children, and a ban on vending machines selling junk food in schools.
The Department of Health is expected to stop short of outright prohibition. But the pilot projects will be used to assess what pupils eat during a typical day, where they buy snacks from and how they can be persuaded to choose more wisely.
Vending machines can raise up to £15,000 a year for schools, making heads reluctant to get rid of them. But early findings from the FSA suggest similar revenues could be raised from healthy foodstuffs.
The Government's Food in Schools plan, which is to start in February, follows fierce criticism of school dinners. The chef Jamie Oliver, who once described school meals as 'made of shit', is working on a TV programme aiming to show how to make canteen lunches more appealing.
A survey last month found that nearly half of children thought their canteen meals were unhealthy, although nearly two thirds admitted they were not sure what a healthy diet was.
The FSA welcomed the Government's schools plan, adding: 'The FSA is concerned that British children are eating too much salt, sugar and fat in their diets.'
Yesterday the BBC said it would drop mentions of Coca-Cola, which sponsors its music charts, after criticism of the sponsorship deal.
