Thousands of pupils affected as conditions force school closures

According to the Highland Council website, it means almost 24,000 children are affected by the closures and leaving them off school for another day.

Schools in the area have been heavily affected all week by the conditions, which have made it unsafe for pupils and staff to travel into work.

There are also closures in Aberdeenshire and Moray, although it is significantly less widespread than it is in the Highland region so far.

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It comes as overnight temperatures fell to minus 12C and it looks likely that they fall even more significantly by the end of Thursday and into Friday morning.

It is predicted that it could fall as low as minus 16C in parts of rural Scotland with the Met Office keeping a snow and ice warning in place for the north of Scotland and the islands.

It has removed its warnings for the rest of Scotland, while England and Wales are also set to be hit by even more freezing weather in the coming days.