School was out for 68,000 pupils at more than 250 schools in Oxfordshire today after the county was blanketed in snow.

About six inches of snow fell in places overnight, prompting the majority of schools in the county to take the decision to close.

Many headteachers shut their schools to ensure the safety of staff and pupils, and with a 60 per cent chance of more snow overnight, further closures are expected tomorrow.

Pupils who did struggle through the snow to get to classes spent their break-times building snowmen or playing in the snow.

Lauren Hailstone, a teacher at Rye St Antony girls’ school in Headington, said: “About 100 out of 400 pupils from our senior school came in, which shows the Edwardian spirit is alive and well here.”

Vie Peart, school secretary for North Kidlington Primary School, said: “We had a break, in which pupils built snowmen and played snowballs, and afterwards staff made hot chocolate and toast for everyone.”

Rachel Crouch, headteacher at St Nicholas Primary School in Marston, said: “The pupils have had a wonderful time in school today.

“All our children live locally and so do a lot of the staff so there was no reason to close.”

Some pupils from New College School in Oxford walked for an hour from one of the city’s park-and-ride car parks.

Pupils who were off school took advantage of the snowy conditions.

Ben Thomas, from Osney Island, Oxford, helped his children Mai, five, and Marisa, two, build an igloo, and said: “It’s very sticky snow so it’s great for snowballs.

“We haven’t had anything like this for a good few years so I think the children have really enjoyed playing it, and they’ve enjoyed not having to go to school.”

James Lloyd, six, from West Oxford, enjoyed the day off from West Oxford Community Primary School by playing in the snow.

He said “It’s great fun because we can have snowball fights. It’s my favourite time of year.”

The blanketing of snow mirrored the blizzard conditions in February two years ago, when 226 schools were closed.

Oxfordshire County Council spokesman Owen Morton said: “About 250 closures out of a total of around 290 schools is the largest number of closures on a single day in recent years.

“The county experienced some unusually heavy snow last night and headteachers will have looked at the situation early this morning and made decisions based on circumstances specific to their schools.

“In coming to a decision, headteachers pay particular attention to health and safety matters, for example, whether or not they are confident that pupils can get to and from school safely and, when at school, whether or not there will be sufficient adults present to ensure pupils’ safety.”

Dozens of schools were closed because of snow on Monday. Thirty-one were closed on Tuesday despite an improvement in conditions, prompting criticism from some parents.