Schools in the London borough of Greenwich will remain open until the end of term, after the council backed down in the face of legal action from the government.
In an open letter to parents Greenwich Council leader Danny Thorpe said that while he does not believe this is the “correct” choice, he “cannot justify use of public funds to fight the decision in the courts.”
“I have no choice but to ask our schools to keep their doors open to all students rather than just continuing with online learning,” Mr Thorpe said.
“The action we took on Sunday was based solely on doing the right thing for our borough, not a protracted legal argument with the Government, which absolutely nobody needs at the end of an extremely difficult term,” he added.
It comes after the head of Ofsted warned that closing schools will see children pay the long-term price.
