AS part of their move into new state-of-the-art facilities, King Henry VIII has announced they will be introducing a facial recognition system for pupils in Year 7 and above.

The cutting-edge facial recognition software will be part of the cashless till system supported by their new catering partner, Aramark.

In a newsletter sent to parents the school explained the “facial recognition systems will enable our break and lunch times to work smoothly and effectively because “we want our pupils to spend less time queuing and more time enjoying their food.”

The school, which has already adopted a cashless till system that uses pupils’ fingerprints to identify them, explained, “For pupils in Year 7 and above, it will help cut queue times by about a third. Pupils simply select their meal, look at the camera, and go! Our goal is to help pupils reclaim time to enjoy their meal breaks.”

They added, “Facial recognition will prevent the issues we currently experience with the fingerprint system - greasy, dirty, or wet fingers prevent the fingerprint from registering.

“When the pupil passes through, if they have any allergy or dietary requirements, it prompts an alert making it quicker to identify important information. This is yet another way to make our children safer during service.”

The announcement earlier this week was met with a mixed response on a local Facebook community page.

Some have a real appetite for it and others less so.

One user said, “Facial recognition is very temperamental. I managed to open my mum’s phone the other day and we are noticeably quite different.”

Another said, “I still think kids need to use money to understand it.”

Another added, “We shouldn’t be implementing this in our schools! As safe as the information store may be it’s still accessible by government bodies.”

A supporter of the system said, “They are trying to get children through the queue quickly. This method will be quicker than the current system, apparently. Most schools are cashless nowadays.”

Another added, “I personally don’t have an issue with the face recognition system at school, and all involved will have a very strict and secure way to do this.”

And someone made the wisecrack, “Aber slowly coming into the early 2000s let’s all lose our minds.”

Although facial recognition software is widespread, there are concerns about its use. In 2023 New York became the first state in the US to ban the use of facial recognition technology in school.

And in 2024 a UN expert recommended a ban on facial recognition in all educational institutions and explained, “Facial recognition is not in the best interest of the child’s right to education. It is a deeply intrusive form of surveillance, which transforms what should be a supportive environment designed to foster a child’s development into a high-security environment.”

They added that “Where data is collected it can be compromised.”

Although KHS is quick to point out, “No other agencies or third parties can use the images.” And as the “”data controller” when the child leaves school they will delete all biometric data.

They also point out that the facial recognition system will require parents’ consent and pupils can opt out at any time.