Schools To Close Early Next Week To Protect Students After Extreme Weather Forecast
A number of schools in England are set to close early next week following the extreme heat warning.
Teachers across the country have told parents that they will be cutting the school day short in a bid to protect children from the searing heat that's on its way over the coming days.
It comes as the Met Office issued its first ever red extreme heat warning for Monday (18 July) and Tuesday (19 July) next week.
As a result, schools have taken varying courses of action to look after their pupils.
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The Hereford Academy in Hereford is one of three schools in the area to have told kids that their school days may be shorter next week, to avoid the worst of the heat.
In a post to Facebook, the school said: "Due to the high temperatures due to hit next week, we will have an earlier condensed format for our final four days: finishing earlier but starting earlier, thus being away for the hottest part of the day."
Similarly, Clapton Girls' Academy in East London warned it could also cut school days short.
Headteacher Anna Feltham said: "Already, many classrooms are very hot, even with fans, and students are struggling to keep cool, drink enough water and maintain concentration in lessons.
"Next week's heatwave will make many teaching rooms unbearably hot by lesson two and five.
"We have reviewed a number of options but do not have sufficient 'cool' rooms to re-room lessons into."
Elsewhere, others have also taken precautions to keep children cool and out of the sun.
St John’s CE Middle School Academy in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, told parents that pupils will be allowed to wear loose clothing next week.
A tweet to parents read: "On Monday and Tuesday ONLY children can come to school wearing non-uniform to enable children to wear loose, light coloured clothing that will help keep them as cool as possible.
"Appropriate clothing must be worn in school - for example, no crop tops or very short shorts."
⚠️⚠️🔴 Red Extreme heat warning issued 🔴⚠️⚠️
— Met Office (@metoffice) July 15, 2022
Parts of England on Monday and Tuesday
Latest info 👉 https://t.co/QwDLMg9c70
Stay #WeatherAware ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/YHaYvaGh95
While St Matthias CE Primary School in Worcestershire and Richmond Primary School in Hinckley, Leicestershire, both cancelled sports day events that were planned to take place next week.
Despite some schools announcing that they plan to close early, however, the Department of Education said it is not advising others follow suit.
A statement from the DoE read: "We aren’t advising schools to close during high temperatures, but school leaders should make sure they take any steps necessary to make sure children are safe and comfortable."
Luckily, temperatures are set to cool down from Wednesday, although people are still recommended to stay hydrated and keep in the shade as much as possible, especially during peak hours of sunlight between 11am and 3pm.
Dominic Smithers