Several schools in Middlesbrough are shutting their doors early again today ahead of the funeral of 17-year-old Theo Rae, one of seven people killed in the A66 crash.
Pupils at four schools in the Acklam area will be sent home hours before the normal end of the school day as mourners prepare to gather for Rae's funeral at Teesside Crematorium this afternoon.
Outwood Academy Acklam will close at 12.15pm, Newham Bridge Primary School will finish at 1pm and Acklam Whin Primary School and Green Lane School will both close at 1.15pm after pupils have had their lunch – only a week after schools went back after the summer holidays.
According to Middlesbrough Council, the decisions have been taken by the individual schools amid concerns that the funeral could cause localised traffic disruption and delays later in the afternoon.
The closures come just three days after schools in neighbouring South Bank also sent children home early for the funeral of another victim, 23-year-old Jakub Matusiak.
There was little to no disorder during that service, with Cleveland Police saying it 'passed without issue' and with 'very minimal traffic disruption'.
But the decision to shut schools has already triggered a political row, with the Tories accusing authorities of allowing criminality to interfere with education.
Close friends Theo Rae (left) and Cole Robert Worthy were both killed in the crash
Mourners gathered for the funeral of Matusiak 23-year-old Jakub Matusiak last week
Matusiak, 23, was one of the young men in the Volkswagen Passat that crashed into a police car on the A66 last month
Conservative MP Laura Trott previously said schools 'should stay open for children to learn', after schools closed ahead of Matusiak's funeral.
And Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has now launched an attack on the Government over the repeat closures.
In a post on X, she said: 'It's obscene that this is happening again. It is the duty of government to keep schools open, yet the Labour Education Secretary is allowing gang violence to dictate the lives of law-abiding citizens.
'Lucy Powell should be ashamed that she has refused to intervene. This sets a terrible precedent and sends a message to criminals and thugs across the country that this Labour government is too weak to keep its people safe from them.'
Downing Street today also insisted that disruption to pupils' learning 'should be kept to an absolute minimum' but stressed there were 'exceptional local circumstances'.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman told reporters: 'Our position is clear; the right place for children is in the classroom. We want to see all schools open and, at the same time, we have been clear that any disruption to pupils' learning should be kept to an absolute minimum.
'We're continuing to support schools to this end and that support includes enabling them to stay open during disruption and we expect them to do so.'
He added: 'In this case there are exceptional local circumstances. Headteachers took decisions in consultation with thee local authorities.
'But we have been clear that any disruption to pupils' learning should be kept to an absolute minimum.'
The latest row follows weeks of tension in Middlesbrough after the deaths of Rae and the other young men in the August 22 crash.
The collision happened at around 3.39am when a Volkswagen Passat travelled the wrong way along the A66 near Middlesbrough before smashing head-on into a Cleveland Police vehicle.
PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were killed in the police car.
PC Tom Clough, left, and PC Matthew Blades were killed in the car crash on the A66
Mourners attend the funeral of Jakub Matusiak. Many were dressed in orange while some were masked
A memorial for Matusiak last month in South Bank, Middlesbrough, saw flares burned and balloons released
All five occupants of the Passat also died: Michael Cahill, 23, Matusiak, Makai Saddington, 18, Rae, and Cole Worthy, 17.
The crash has since prompted a major police operation into suspected serious and organised criminal activity, with dozens of people arrested in the aftermath.
Four of the men in the Passat were previously reported to have had at least 37 convictions between them, while police have been investigating whether members of the group had links to organised crime.
Cleveland Police is expected to adopt a similar approach for Rae's funeral, including a visible presence around the area.
Police have previously stressed that schools and other organisations have not been ordered to close and that decisions about early finishes have been made by individual organisations following their own assessments.