We’re excited to welcome Sophie Wallis (ANutr), our new Registered Associate Nutritionist, to the Independents by Sodexo family. Sophie has been collaborating with our teams and has already been making a fantastic impact across our independent school community.
Sophie is passionate about making nutrition practical, engaging and accessible for young people. With a strong foundation in evidence-based nutrition, she specialises in translating complex topics into clear, age-appropriate learning that pupils can confidently apply to everyday life. Her work spans nutrition education, plant-based eating and sports nutrition, with a particular focus on supporting long-term health, wellbeing and performance in school settings.
Last year, Sophie delivered an engaging nutrition education workshop at Notting Hill Preparatory School, alongside Head Chef Alex Bundy from Hurst College. The session focused on helping pupils understand the role of plant-based protein in a hands-on way and fun way with lots of tasting involved. For younger pupils (Year 3 and below) colourful hummus gardens were created to enjoy alongside their lunches, while older year groups sampled a range of tasty snacks made with plant-based protein ingredients.
One of the highlights was a protein “guess the ingredient” challenge, which sparked plenty of curiosity and lively discussion. The pupils’ enthusiasm was clear throughout with thoughtful questions and brilliant engagement from start to finish.
More recently, Sophie visited Magdalen College School, where she hosted a Sports Nutrition Q&A session for pupils. The sessions were key in equipping pupils with an interest in sport and exercise with the information they needed. Pupils arrived well prepared and readily submitted detailed questions in advance, which indicated a real desire to understand how nutrition can support performance and long-term health. The feedback from the session was extremely positive and pupils demonstrated a strong understanding of the key principles discussed.
Sophie’s approach of evidence-based guidance combined with an engaging style of delivery has helped pupils feel supported and confident in asking questions and applying what they learn. These sessions mark the beginning of an exciting programme of nutrition education across our schools, and we’re already looking forward to what’s next.
If you’d like to learn more about our upcoming nutrition workshops or events, keep an eye on our updates.