As the snow and freezing conditions took a grip of the county once again over the past week, schools around the county fell victim to the conditions and were forced to close their doors to students.
On Tuesday more than 100 schools, crèches, and colleges of further education were closed for the day and many reporting that they would not reopen until after the Christmas break. The closures of the schools put extra pressure on many working parents who have had to arrange childcare at short notice due to the closures. Since the start of the month schools have closed and re-opened due to the severe weather conditions. The cold snap has seen many schools lose a number of teaching days in the past month and it is yet unclear if they will have to make up those days at a later date. According to Department of Education guidelines, the number of school days for post primary schools is 167 and for primary level schools it is 183 in a year.
