By Zoe Gough BBC News, Herefordshire

About six guests join the pupils for lunch every day

Diners are patiently waited on, the tables are decorated with flowers on colourful tablecloths and the food is prepared by a trained chef.

Yet there are no Michelin stars or celebrity names here and everything on the menu costs just £1.50.

But it should make school meals campaigner Jamie Oliver proud as it is not a restaurant - it's a school dinner hall.

St Mary's Primary School in Fownhope has opened its doors to its elderly neighbours to ensure everyone has a healthy meal.

The idea for this scheme came in discussions between the school and a GP from a nearby surgery.

'Better than at home'

Dr Mike Hearne sends his children to the school and is a governor. When he heard about the quality of the food he suggested some of his patients might like to attend.

"The difficulty is when you go back home with the kids and they tell my wife her cooking is not as good as Gail's who is the cook here.

These are the first school dinners we've ever had Ken Wheeler, resident

"I rang up a couple of my patients I normally see in the surgery and asked them out for lunch. They were certainly very surprised but enjoyed it none the less," he said.

About six guests now join the pupils and staff for lunch every day which can range from roast chicken to meatballs as well as vegetarian options and desserts.

The kitchen staff from Herefordshire Jarvis Services, headed up by Gail Oakey, produce about 300 school meals a day, as well as providing dinners for St Mary's they also send them out to five other schools in the area.

Nancy Eckley was one of the nearby residents brought along by Dr Hearne, she had just celebrated her 88th birthday. "It's quite an experience and the children are all so lovely and so are the meals. I never thought I'd be coming back here to have school meals."

'Children meet others'

Her neighbours Ken and Doreen Wheeler said it is a new opportunity for them.

Mr Wheeler said: "These are the first school dinners we've ever had.

"I'd recommend it to anybody, especially the elderly people around here. I'd advise them to come and try it."

The children give the meals the thumbs up too

The children approve of the adults sharing their meals too, some are so keen they take on the roles of waiters and waitresses.

One pupil, Alex Smith said: "It's good because you get to talk to other people not just your friends."

The 'restaurant' is the only one of its kind in the area according to headteacher Allyson Taylor but she says she can see other schools taking up the idea especially as the government is encouraging schools to open up to the community.

"We've heard from our visitors how much they've enjoyed it, how good the quality of the food is," she said.

"It is also extremely good for our children to meet other people particularly in these days where families are not necessarily so close together.

"From our children we'd be definitely getting a Michelin star."