‘Children were calling for their mummies’: UK pupils struggle in 40C-plus classrooms | Schools

TExtreme heat to hit the UK twice in the last few weeks has left teachers struggling to cope, with temperatures soaring above 40C in some classrooms, with students and staff complaining of heatstroke, nausea and headaches.

Teachers say they are desperately trying to keep children safe, with some younger students lying on the floor covered with wet paper towels, while older students are given trays of water under their desks to soak their feet in.

Staff say learning is nearly impossible on the hottest days, when student behavior and attention deteriorate rapidly.

While some teachers and students fainted, others say they had to buy fans and sunshades out of their own pockets to keep themselves and their students safe.

One primary school teacher said: “Everyone was lying or sitting on the floor with water bottles, sweating, moaning and feeling tired. [complaining of] headache and nausea.

“The adults were barely coping and most of the children were looking for their mothers and fathers. There was no learning, we just survived as best we could.”

Many school buildings cannot cope with the heat because they have little or no shade and too much glass.

Buildings are often old and poorly insulated; Artificial grass or concrete in playgrounds increases the effect of heat; Most schools do not have air conditioning.

Some staff reported that students and teachers sat on the floor of whatever shaded classrooms they could find, with the lights off. In May the government’s climate advisers said all schools should be fitted with air conditioning within 25 years and that the country was “built for a climate that no longer exists”.

“Nobody seems to know how to cool buildings,” one teacher said. “The fabric of the building needs to be changed and trees need to be planted in place of the warm expanse of the playground.

“I worked in much warmer countries for three years, but there were four ceiling fans in each room and rules about windows/blinds/doors to create a livable environment.”

This year, Western Europe experienced the hottest June in history as the fossil fuel-fueled climate crisis accelerated.

Britain entered its third heatwave of the year this week, with temperatures soaring to 35C. The current high temperatures are expected to last for a sweltering 10 days, and the sweltering heat on land is accompanied by higher global ocean temperatures, which experts warn could cause “mass mortality events” for some species.

Extreme weather conditions led to more than 1,000 schools in England and Wales either closing or partially closing at the height of the June heatwave, according to figures compiled by PA Media at the time.

Statistics from the Department for Education (DfE) show that one in five school sessions in England are missed; This is the highest daily absence rate ever in the 2025-26 academic year.

Experts say the closure of so many schools puts pressure on the entire society and economy.

Turn Our Way The group estimated the economic cost of the June heatwave at between £100 million and £200 million. He said the impact extends beyond schools and teachers to parents who may have to take time off work and the wider community.

Roger Harding, co-director of the group, said dealing with the realities of the climate crisis could not be left to individual schools and teachers.

“We need to see a plan from the government to protect people, including children in school, when extreme weather conditions occur,” he said.

“This needs to go hand in hand with measures to reduce the pollution that causes climate change in the first place, to ensure that extreme weather does not get worse.”

A survey of 1,000 parents in the UK on behalf of Round Our Way found that more than half had one or more of their children missing at least one day of school during the June heatwave; 40% reported that children came home overheated and exhausted; 46% said their children couldn’t play outside because the weather was too hot; and almost two-thirds said summer months in the UK were “getting really unsafe for children”.

In the survey conducted by Round Our Way in partnership with the National Education Union (NEU), the UK’s largest education union, teachers were asked about the impact of the June heatwave.

Jenny Cooper, a teacher and NEU safety representative in London, said recent heatwaves had caused serious damage to schools in the capital.

“I’ve heard of colleagues fainting, while others have shared photos of thermometers in their classrooms showing 10 degrees above safe operating levels,” he said.

“Our schools should be places where we can learn and teach safely. They should be a place for children whose homes are unsafe. Extreme heat and other climate impacts jeopardize that.”

Lorna Powell is an NHS urgent care doctor in east London and Mothers Revolt The climate group said the recent “heat attacks” were frightening as she struggled to keep her two children and her patients safe as a parent and doctor.

He said the closure of many schools has changed people’s mindset. “Most people I know don’t actually think or talk about climate change. But when our primary school closed in June, it became a regular topic of conversation. One mother said to me: ‘We didn’t have summers like these when we were young, did we?'”

People are also starting to make the connection between the fossil fuel industry, political party funding and extreme weather events, Powell said.

“When people begin to understand that major coal, oil and gas interests support political parties calling for more drilling, it is a lightbulb moment.

“It all makes sense and they can see through fake information that suggests more expensive oil and gas will lower our bills and provide energy security, when in reality it makes the world much more dangerous and expensive for all of us.”

A DfE spokesman said schools were responsible for making their own decisions about whether it was safe to remain open, but they should do so “wherever possible”.

The spokesman added: “There are well-established measures to manage hot weather in schools, including ensuring children are hydrated, adapting uniforms where appropriate and avoiding strenuous activities during the hottest parts of the day.”