Some lucky children will be getting an extra hour in bed on Monday after a number of schools offered a late start time following England’s bid to be crowned Euro 2024 champions.

KentOnline has heard as many as 14 schools across Kent have sent correspondence home to parents giving them the option to send their children in at 10am on Monday morning. England face Spain in the final - kicking off at 8pm. If the game goes to penalties, the winner may not be revealed until close to 11pm.

The schools, which include primary and secondary, will be open as usual at the normal time but children arriving up until 10am will not be given a late mark.

A letter sent to parents at Tunbury Primary School, in Tunbury Avenue, Chatham, said: "Everyone is hopeful there might be something else to cheer about on Sunday evening...come on England.

“With this in mind we're offering the same flexibitily as we did in 2021 for the last England final.

“On Monday morning registers will remain open until 10am and children will not be marked later as long as they arrive in school by 10am.

“School will be open as normal at the normal time and we do understand that many of our parents/carers will need to be at work themselves at their own normal times so the flexibility will not benefit everyone and is purely optional."

But not all schools are feeling the football spirit and have sent letters specifying a normal start time.

Parents on social media have had mixed reactions to the news.

Some have said the leniency will not benefit them as they need to drop their children at school to get to work.

Others thought it was pandering to the “snowflake” generation.

Said one: “What a soft generation we live in now. They start at 9am. I’m sure you used to stay up later as a kid on a Sunday. This generation of days off here and wanting a bank holiday there is amazing. No wonder the kids just do what they want.”

Another added: “I don’t think a late start should be allowed. School is school and sadly regardless of the reasons it should be business as usual. Imagine telling your work, ‘sorry, I’m coming in an hour later as I stayed up late watching TV’.”

But others thought it was a great suggestion. One said: “If we win, I’m partying all night with my daughter,” one parent said. “School is cancelled. I’m calling it a history life lesson.”

The flexibility is part of an official Department of Education directive passed on to schools advised they are allowed a level of flexibility to the start of the school day on Monday.

It is understood that while there are no specific legal requirements about how long the school day should be, governing bodies of all maintained schools in England are responsible for deciding when sessions should begin and end on each school day. For academies and free schools, the duration of the school day is the responsibility of the academy trust.

The DofE says schools should organise the school day and school week “in the best interest of their pupil cohort”.