Ever lived in Canada carl we have proper winter weather and cope very easily not like yourselves with 10cm of snow and uter panic to follow get real and lets face it if you wear t shirts in snow and ice i hope you dont hold a responsible position

It was a lovely sunny day in Carlisle which cheered us up in the office.

Anne,
I get your point (I think), why have the schools closed during the summer when they require no heating, lighting etc and have them open during the winter months when these costs are astronomical.

I would be in favour of a reversal and closing them for eight weeks or whatever it is in December/January and keep them open during the summer. At least with the light nights in the summer the pupils and teachers can do other things in daylight after lessons.

There are plenty half term breaks when the family holiday can be taken.

Certainly food for thought.

Actually, snow and ice are lethal. Teachers work very hard and kids get killed easily on roads even without snow and ice. We do very well with minus temperatures: just look at us in our T-shirts/scanty clothes as we show a level of endurance that shocks Canadians. While we might brave a few extremes, not making our kids commute in dangerous conditions is actually a sign that we have got the hang of it. How is it better to have the school run going on during these conditions?