During the half-term holiday, staff from Banstead Prep met up for a very unusual lunch at The Clink Restaurant at HMP High Down.
The Clink charity creates training projects in prisons, where prisoners with six to eighteen months left of their sentence can volunteer to take part in the programme and work towards a City & Guilds qualification,
The manager of the restaurant in HMP High Down explained the value of the programme, “the rate of re-offending in the general prison population is around 50%, but for those who work in The Clink, it’s around 12%.”
Whilst it was slightly surreal checking in with ID and fingerprints and being searched before entering the restaurant, we had a lovely lunch – the food was of a very high standard and the service was very friendly and attentive. The no phones rule made for a unique atmosphere but was slightly more difficult for some than for others! All agreed it was a great experience, and even more so knowing it was supporting a worthy, and local cause.
You can find our more about the charity and its work at theclinkcharity.org
