Hundreds of schools across England and Wales are shutting their doors as soaring temperatures expose a growing problem in Britain’s education system: classrooms that are simply too hot for children to learn in.
More than 300 schools are set to close fully or partially on Wednesday and Thursday as a red weather warning for extreme heat comes into force. With temperatures expected to reach 40C, many school leaders say their buildings are unable to cope because they lack air conditioning and adequate cooling systems.
Several schools have switched to online learning, while others are shortening the school day and sending pupils home by lunchtime. The disruption is expected to leave many working parents scrambling for childcare arrangements.
Bledlow Ridge School in Buckinghamshire is among those closing. The school said its classrooms do not have air conditioning and warned that indoor temperatures could rise significantly above those recorded outside, creating uncomfortable and potentially unsafe learning conditions for pupils and staff.
Forecasters say the UK could challenge or even exceed its all time temperature record of 40.3C, set in Lincolnshire during the summer of 2022. The Met Office expects temperatures to peak on Thursday, particularly across London and the South East.
Met Office press officer Grahame Madge said temperatures could reach 39C, with the possibility of even higher readings if conditions develop at the upper end of forecasts. He warned that high humidity would make the heat feel even more intense.
The wave of school closures has also reignited concerns about whether Britain’s public buildings are prepared for a warming climate.
Professor Fredi Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London, said the country was built for weather conditions that no longer exist. She warned that heatwaves are becoming more frequent and more intense because of climate change.
“Temperatures above 35 degrees used to be extremely rare in the UK,” she said. “They have now occurred in seven of the last 12 years, and this sustained surge in extreme heat would not have happened without human caused climate change.”
As children are sent home and lessons move online, the heatwave is raising uncomfortable questions about the resilience of school buildings and whether they are fit for the hotter summers that experts say are becoming the new normal.
