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

Primary school pupils in London. Children have been struggling to cope with the recent excessive heat. Photograph: PjrTravel/Alamy View image in fullscreen Primary school pupils in London. Children have been struggling to cope with the recent excessive heat. Photograph: PjrTravel/Alamy ‘Children were calling for their mummies’: UK pupils struggle in 40C-plus classrooms Teachers call for schools to be urgently adapted for hot weather amid reports of nausea, fainting and heatstroke T he extreme heat that has hit the UK twice in the past few weeks has left teachers struggling to cope as temperatures in some classrooms climb above 40C, with pupils and staff suffering from heatstroke, nausea and headaches. Teachers say they have been desperately trying to keep children safe, with some covering younger pupils in wet paper towels as they lie on the floor, while older students have been given trays of water under their desks to put their feet in. Staff say learning on the hottest days is almost impossible, with pupil behaviour and attention deteriorating rapidly. Some teachers and pupils have fainted, while others say they have had to buy fans and window shades out of their own pockets to try to keep themselves and their pupils safe. One primary school teacher said: “Everyone was lying or sitting on the floor with their water bottles, sweating, moaning and feeling tired, [complaining of] headaches and nausea. “The adults barely coped and most of the children were calling for their mummies and daddies. There was no learning, just surviving the best we could.” Many school buildings are simply unable to cope with the heat as they have little or no shade and lots of glass. Buildings are often old and poorly insulated, with artificial grass or concrete in playgrounds that exacerbates the impact of the heat, while many schools do not have air conditioning. View image in fullscreen Government climate advisers say air conditioning should be installed in all schools within 25 years. Photograph: mar-fre/Alamy Some staff have reported pupils and teachers sitting on the floor of any classrooms they could find with shade, with the lights turned off. In May, the government’s climate advisers said air conditioning should be installed in all schools within 25 years and that the country was “built for a climate that no longer exists”. “No one seems to know how to cool the buildings,” said one teacher. “Changes to the fabric of the building and the planting of trees instead of the hot expanse of the playground are needed. “I’ve worked three years in much hotter countries, but they had four ceiling fans in each room and rules about windows/blinds/doors that created a livable environment.” This year western Europe has been hit by its hottest June on record as the fossil fuel-driven climate crisis accelerates. Tarmac playgrounds and windows that don’t open: why hot spells turn our schools into heat traps | Harry Paticas Read more The UK entered its third heatwave of the year