Hundreds of schools in England and Wales to close in heatwave

Hundreds of schools across the south of England and Wales are expected to close or vary their hours this week, in an effort to combat the extreme heat and conditions labelled as dangerous by education unions. School leaders said they had warned parents about potential closures on Wednesday and Thursday, with many opting to end the day early to avoid the worst of the afternoon heat. Headteachers say they are deploying fans and portable air conditioning in classrooms where possible, although several reported that supplies of fans at local hardware stores had already sold out. Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said it could be dangerous for schools to remain open unless they were able to mitigate the heat, and warned: “Our Victorian school buildings have become greenhouses. “The government must step up. We need urgent, massive capital investment to retrofit our ageing school estates with proper ventilation, shading, and climate-resilient cooling infrastructure. “Expecting schools to carry on like normal right now is dangerous.” With temperatures expected to reach 40C within a “red zone” affecting London, much of the south-west of England up to Birmingham and parts of Wales , schools without air conditioning or adequate ventilation will struggle with the heat disrupting activities as well as their ability to support children with medical conditions or special needs affected by high temperatures. …