Children missed more than seven million school days when a record-breaking heatwave caused hundreds of schools to close, according to analysis by the not-for-profit group Round Our Way. The group warned ministers to “get ahead” of extreme heat in classrooms amid fears that warmer temperatures could worsen in coming decades.
Polling Reveals Widespread Disruption
Round Our Way commissioned polling of 1,008 parents in the UK between June 25 and 26. Based on the responses, pollsters at Focal Data estimated that the average child in the UK lost 0.7 school days during the week when a rare red-alert for heat was issued. This warning indicated significant risk to life, even for people who are not vulnerable.
Round Our Way then multiplied the average loss by the total UK pupil population of 10,046,026 to calculate the estimated number of lost school days, which came to over seven million.
Record-Breaking Temperatures
A new provisional UK heat record for June of 37.7C (99.9F) was set in Lingwood, Norfolk, on Friday, June 26. This beat the previous June record of 35.6C recorded in 1957 and equalled in 1976. The extreme heat prompted hundreds of schools to close, forcing children to miss lessons.
Roger Harding, co-founder of Round Our Way, said: “We've spoken to lots of parents and teachers who found last week tough, with kids struggling to sleep, feeling unwell or just wiped out by the heat. The government is quick to clamp down on parents pulling kids out of school for holidays but last week we lost millions of school days because schools had to shut due to the heat.”
Call for Government Action
Harding added: “Ministers have to get ahead of this. Our homes, schools and many other public buildings simply weren't built for heat like this and we'll be caught out every summer if we don't better prepare. A proper plan to keep our kids cool needs to go hand-in-hand with cutting the pollution causing this climate change in the first place.”
Further Heatwaves Expected
The disruption comes as a third heatwave of the year is expected this week. Some forecasts suggest temperatures could climb back into the low to mid-30Cs in England and Wales. Forecasters said that “above-average temperatures” are expected in July and August with “significant bursts” of heat in the UK and across Europe.
