Extra day off for pupils as schools shut

Thousands of children across the Black Country and Staffordshire were enjoying an extra day off school today due to the ankle-deep snowfall.

Every school in Dudley and Birmingham was closed, as were most in Wolverhampton, Walsall and Sandwell.

In Staffordshire students were less lucky than their young counterparts across the border with some schools open but many were closed today, including St John's First School in Great Haywood and Western Springs Primary School, Rugeley.

Dudley and Birmingham councils made the decision to shut schools last night, while headteachers in the rest of the Black Country and Staffordshire were left to make their own choice.

Queen Mary's High School was one of only two secondary schools in Walsall to open its gates yesterday. But headteacher Diana Woods sent all of her pupils home at lunchtime due to the treacherous conditions and the school was shut today.

Mrs Woods said: "On the way to school yesterday the main roads seemed OK, but as the day went on and we checked the forecasts, it was clear that things were going to get worse so we decided to send the pupils home at lunchtime. It is a huge decision to close a school as a lot of lesson time is lost. I consulted with my colleague at the boys' school and we decided, due to the freezing overnight temperatures and treacherous conditions, to close today.

"It a huge balancing act between losing valuable learning time and the safety of students and staff."

In Wolverhampton, most of the city's 102 council-controlled schools and nurseries were closed. All of Wolverhampton's secondary school students got an extra day off apart from those at Smestow Specialist Sports College in Castlecroft and Highfields Science Specialist College in Penn. Today, 102 schools were shut in Walsall, 32 in Sandwell and all 107 primary and secondaries were closed in Dudley. Jane Porter, director of children's services in Dudley, said they made the decision last night to give parents plenty of opportunity to arrange childcare. She said many teachers gave their pupils work to do at home.

Councillor Ian Jones, cabinet member for children and young people, said: "The safety and care of the children in our schools is paramount and a judgement is taken by the headteacher and the chairman of the governors on the basis of how many staff they will have to look after the pupils in their care, as generally teachers live further away from the school than the pupils and may not be able to get in."

In South Staffordshire, many schools were closed including Ounsdale High in Wombourne and Brewood Middle School.