Schools and Universities — Kitchen Extract Cleaning in London

Education kitchens run to the calendar. A primary school kitchen may cook for a few hours a day in term time, while a university restaurant or hall of residence can serve from breakfast until late. We arrange TR19 extract cleaning quotes for schools, colleges and universities across London. An independent specialist provider carries out the clean and issues the certificate.

Infants in state primary schools are already entitled to free meals under the national scheme, and since September 2023 the Mayor of London has funded free lunches for Key Stage 2 pupils in state primary schools too. The Mayor has approved up to £99.4 million to continue the scheme for the academic year from September 2026 to July 2027, and an evaluation led by UCL found that universal free meals increase take-up across all pupil groups.

Which TR19 frequency band applies

BESA's TR19 guidance sets minimum cleaning intervals by daily hours of use: every 12 months for 2 to 6 hours a day, every 6 months for 6 to 12 hours and every 3 months for 12 to 16 hours. A school kitchen producing lunch usually sits in the light band and needs at least an annual clean, which is also the minimum London Fire Brigade guidance note GN86 sets for any catering extract unless the fire risk assessment says otherwise. Breakfast clubs and holiday lettings can push a school into the six-monthly band, while university restaurants and halls with long opening hours can reach the quarterly band. Grease readings confirm the right interval for each kitchen, and the TR19 compliance guide explains the bands.

Who books the clean and keeps the certificate

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the responsible person is usually the employer, or otherwise whoever controls the premises. Where a contract caterer runs a kitchen in a building someone else controls, agree in writing who books the clean and who holds the certificate, because GN86 expects responsible persons who share an extract system to cooperate so the whole duct is cleaned at the same time. The London Fire Commissioner enforces the Order in London, and GN86 says fire safety officers ask to see post-clean verification records during an audit. It also warns that no cleaning, or an ineffective regime, could invalidate insurance.

Booking into half terms and vacations

Holidays leave the kitchen empty, so no meals are affected. In Islington, for example, the 2026 to 2027 school calendar has October half term from 26 to 30 October 2026, a winter holiday from 21 December 2026 to 1 January 2027, February half term from 15 to 19 February 2027 and a spring holiday from 26 March to 9 April 2027, with the summer term ending on 22 July 2027. Other boroughs publish their own dates, so check yours. Universities set their own calendars: Queen Mary University of London's provisional dates show vacations from 24 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, 17 April to 3 May 2027 and 7 June to 17 September 2027, although it notes that Masters students do not have a summer vacation.

What a full clean covers

The provider cleans the canopy and filters, the full ductwork run and the extract fan, fitting access panels where needed. Grease thickness is measured before and after against TR19's 200 micron limit, and you receive before and after photographs taken from the same positions, the readings, a note of any areas that could not be reached and a certificate for the premises file. If the duct route has never been drawn, an inspection report can map it first.

Universities and colleges across London

Queen Mary, which has campuses at Mile End and Whitechapel, has a café bar and a 200-seat restaurant in the Westfield Student Village on its Mile End campus. The University of East London has campuses in Stratford and at Docklands, where 1,200 student rooms sit alongside cafés and a restaurant, and UCL East on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park has accommodation for 552 students at One Pool Street. The University of Greenwich has its main campus at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, whose buildings are Grade I listed, so agree access panel positions with the estates team. Kingston University has campuses at Penrhyn Road, Kingston Hill and Knights Park, London Metropolitan University's main campus is on Holloway Road in Islington, and the University of West London has a site on St Mary's Road, Ealing.

Trusts, boroughs and campus estates

If you manage several schools in a trust or across a borough, or several outlets on one campus, we can arrange one quote covering every kitchen. Each kitchen keeps its own interval and certificate, with dates spread across the holidays. School kitchens also get food hygiene ratings from the borough council's food safety officer, whose inspection covers ventilation; display is voluntary in England. The cost guide explains what drives the price.

Where we see these kitchens most

Services: TR19 extract cleaning · canopy cleaning · ductwork · filters · what it costs

Frequently Asked Questions