School pupils allowed to arrive couple of hours late for school after England vs Mexico game

School pupils will be allowed to arrive a couple of hours late for school following England's last-16 World Cup clash against Mexico.

Several institutions have confirmed they will permit students to arrive late without penalty, although children will still be expected to attend.

The decision comes after England manager Thomas Tuchel encouraged parents to let their children stay home on Monday to watch the last-16 encounter.

However, not all officials support the flexible approach, with Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson maintaining pupils should still make it into the classroom despite the 1am kick-off, according to The Telegraph.

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Three primary schools in County Durham – Greenland, Bloemfontein, and Burnhope – have announced pupils can turn up any time before 10am on Monday and still receive their morning attendance mark.

The schools, which operate under the same multi-academy trust, stated on social media they wanted to give families "the opportunity to enjoy the occasion without worrying about the school run quite so early".

Meanwhile, Purwell Primary School in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, said it will keep registers open until 10:30am.

The school wrote on Facebook: "While it is unlikely that many primary-aged children will stay up to watch the game, we appreciate that some families may have a later night than usual."

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Despite some schools offering flexibility, the Education Secretary has pushed back against the trend.

She told Times Radio: "Parents will make decisions about whether their children stay up, how they manage bedtime.

"I'm not going to insert myself into a discussion amongst families about how they do that.

"But I do hope children are back in school on the Monday."

Mike Bell, the Liberal Democrat leader of North Somerset Council, has urged local schools to consider starting at lunchtime, calling for them to "show a bit of flexibility" and give "young fans the chance to sleep off the nerves, the noise and hopefully the celebrations".

However, Labour councillor James Clayton disagreed, citing his daughter's SEND needs.

He argued: "I'm a father to a child with SEND needs, so she needs her structure of sleep and school. Plus I rely on breakfast club so I can go to work for 8am. If schools don't start the school day til lunchtime, how are parents to rely on the school day to get to work?

"We all love the big sports tournaments to support our nation, but unfortunately the world doesn't stop so we have to find ways to accommodate around it like getting some sleep in the day then after the football."

Some schools have opted for alternative solutions rather than adjusting their start times.

London Colney Primary School will broadcast a complete replay of the match at 9am in the school hall, whilst Smith's Wood Primary in the West Midlands plans to show highlights during assembly.

Q3 Academy Langley in Oldbury has turned down parental requests to delay opening, yet it will host a special World Cup breakfast for students.

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