Thousands of school children across England will be coming into class late - or very early - so they can watch England's World Cup match against Brazil.

Many schools are making special arrangements to screen the game.

Some are inviting pupils to come into school before the kick-off at 0730 to watch the match with their friends.

Others are delaying the start of the school day until after the match to allow children to watch the game at home.

Head teachers watched England V Argentina at a half-term conference

Head teachers are responding to the huge public interest in the game.

At Chorlton Church of England Primary School in Manchester, children will either watch the game at home before coming into school, or come in early to see it there.

The school's administrator, Jennifer King, said: "I think the basic reason behind it is it's a very important match and there's a lot of support for England among parents, staff and pupils.

"It would be rather churlish of us not to step back and recognise that this is an important event."

At Colmore Junior School in Kings Heath, Birmingham, pupils have been told they can come in to watch the second half of the game on a big screen.

The deputy head teacher Richard Farmer said he thought most of the school's pupils would do so, with the others staying at home until the end of the match.

"For the Nigeria game, they were really excited, so I would imagine the hype will have got to them even more for this game," he said.

Pupils at The King David High School in Manchester will be able to watch the game on a big screen in the library.

They will pay �2 for breakfast, with the profits going to charity.