Edinburgh schools to get extra day off in October after Queen's funeral fell on bank holiday

School pupils in Edinburgh will get an extra day off on October 24, as the Queen’s funeral coincided with an existing September bank holiday.

The City of Edinburgh Council have added an extra day to the October holidays, as a substitute for Queen Elizabeth II's State Funeral Bank Holiday, which took place on September 19.

While many children across the country were not scheduled to have a bank holiday in September prior to the Queen’s death, kids in the Capital were guaranteed a day off, due to an Edinburgh Council Public Holiday.

As schools in Edinburgh didn’t get an additional day off, the Council has been granted an exemption, allowing a substitute Bank Holiday to take place on Monday, October 24.

As a result, the inset day that was scheduled to take place on October 24 has been moved to October 25, meaning students will return to school on Wednesday, October 26.

In a letter to parents, Lorna French, acting Head of Schools and Lifelong Learning apologised for “the additional inconvenience caused by this unforeseen readjustment to the school year”.

One local took to Twitter to complain about the additional holiday day, writing: “Because kids haven’t had enough time off school the last few years, Edinburgh has given schools another holiday to compensate for the injustice of the Queen’s funeral being on the same day as a local holiday. Just what the kids need, and a real win for working parents.”

However, not everyone disagrees with the prospect of another school holiday. One individual replied: “Maybe what the burnt out, over-stretched teachers need though?”.