Thousands of children had an extra day off on Thursday as more than 200 schools in the former Avon area shut because of the snow.

Some head teachers felt the slippery conditions presented a danger while others shut because of transport problems for staff and pupils.

Classes were cancelled too at the University of the West of England (UWE), City of Bristol College and St Brendan's Sixth Form College.

But those schools that did open said pupils and teachers were enjoying the snow and making the most of learning opportunities.

Rob Worsfold, head of Air Balloon Infant School in St George, said for many of his 270 pupils, aged four to seven, it was the first time they had seen the white stuff.

"Some of them were shocked at how cold snow is," he said.

All the children and staff at St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary in Redland made it in and took part in a day of themed activities.

These included science: watching snow melt; mental maths: working out how long it might take to melt and design and technology: designing and building snowmen.

Head teacher Joan Sutcliffe said: "There is lots of learning and fun going on."

Lockleaze Primary was open, with staff and pupils taking part in a snowman-making contest.

Tots at the Toybox Day Nursery in Henleaze tried some snow sculpture, although manager Mandy Nutton said some of their dinosaurs did not turn out quite as planned.

Many independent schools were shut but Silverhill School in Winterbourne and Colston's School in Stapleton were open.

Colston's head teacher Peter Fraser said: "It is very much business as usual here.

Mr Fraser said although he would not criticise head teachers who had chosen to close schools, he did feel many people across the city had "made a hugely conservative decision very early on". "We are paying the price for the culture of blame we now live in," he added.

Stephen Holliday, head of Queen Elizabeth's Hospital boys' school in Clifton, which did shut, said pupils and staff would have had to travel in from across a wide area in treacherous conditions.

Bristol City Council, which had about 70 of its schools closed, said the authority gave advice and guidance to schools on how to prepare for snow and keep lessons going.

Not all students who stayed home got the day off, however.

Some schools, including John Cabot Academy in Kingswood, advised pupils to do work from home via the academy's online virtual learning environment.

Keith Hicks, spokesman for UWE, said many of the university's 28,000 students and 3,000 staff, would be doing the same.

"We cancelled lectures because there were no buses but we have more than 600 courses that are all online," he said.