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More than a quarter of schools have closed early this week as the country experienced an unprecedented June heatwave, polling seen by ����Vlog reveals.

Thursday was the UK’s hottest ever June day on record, with a provisional temperature of 36.4C recorded in Yeovilton, Somerset.

With no legal limit on classroom temperatures, schools have been taking a range of measures to keep pupils and staff safe, from relaxing uniform policies to closing early or switching to remote working.

Meanwhile, the government has faced urgent calls to introduce measures to help schools battle the heat.

When asked yesterday about the impact of the heatwave on schools, prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said COBRA meetings - the government’s emergency crisis committee - were taking place “at the official level”.

Schools’ measures in heatwave

In a Teacher Tapp survey of more than 9,000 teachers on Wednesday, 68 per cent said their school had made changes to uniform, and 23 per cent said their school had cancelled or postponed events, such as sports day.

Only 5 per cent reported that their school had closed completely, and the same proportion said their school was closed with online learning offered.

One in 10 said their school allowed authorised absences - despite education secretary Bridget Phillipson issuing a warning over attendance, telling parents to “pack a water bottle, put on the sunscreen, and trust that your child’s school has got this”.

A further 15 per cent of respondents said that their school had not implemented any of the measures listed in the survey.

Regional differences

London schools were most likely to close early, with 49 per cent of primary teachers and 53 per cent of secondary teachers saying their school did so on Wednesday.

Some schools in the capital and Home Counties were able to purchase air-conditioning units and fans following rapid parent fundraisers, with Dulwich Hamlet Junior School, in south-east London, raising more than £2,925 within a day.

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Many schools had to adapt their curriculum. Claire Lotriet, headteacher of Henwick Primary School, in South London, said: “We’re not able to run school as normal in heat like this and so we’ve had to adapt lessons, too, thinking about reducing movement, not being outside, changing certain activities and so on.”

“The children have been great, as always, but they do get more tired in this heat, and it’s tough for them to concentrate,” she continued.

Shazia Azhar, headteacher at Spring Grove Junior, Infant and Nursery School in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, said her school had bought fans for every classroom.

“In our Victorian building, we don’t have air conditioning, so we have pulled down our roller blinds over the huge windows, opened all the doors to allow air to circulate and provided ice lollies for all,” she added.

She called on the government to provide air conditioning for schools “in preparation for future heatwaves, which we know will now be the new normal”.

School closures ‘a government failure’

Thousands of schools are understood to have closed partially or fully this week, and the NEU teaching union yesterday wrote to Ms Phillipson, urging immediate action to help schools combat the heat.

“Every school closure this week is a direct consequence of successive governments failing to invest in the UK’s school estate,” NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said.

The union had warned earlier this week that any expectation that schools should carry on as normal during extreme weather was “dangerous” and “reckless”.

Union leaders representing school support staff had also written to the government this week calling for the introduction of emergency measures to alleviate the effects of high temperatures.

Nigel Wright, headteacher at Oakmoor School in Hampshire, shared his concerns, asking: “Why are there no clear government guidelines on maximum temperatures in schools? Where is the investment in school infrastructure to ensure safe and comfortable learning environments?

“This is an issue that is not going away any time soon, and it is one that needs attention,” he added.

His school’s uniform policy already allows students to wear shorts, and industrial fans were brought in to circulate air around the buildings in the morning. In addition, there were fans in every classroom, windows were opened early each morning, and blinds were kept closed throughout the day.

“Despite these measures, the impact inside the building has been limited,” Mr Wright said.

‘More to do’ to help schools manage heat

During a school visit yesterday, Ms Phillipson acknowledged that “there is more to do” to ensure that school buildings are equipped to deal with extreme heat.

She said: “We are investing a lot of money in making that a reality, but I think the challenges that schools are facing around the extreme weather at the moment demonstrate that there’s more to do”.

The government allocated £2.4 billion in 2025-26 to improve the condition of the school and college estate.

All new schools will have to meet new design specifications that will future-proof buildings against climate change and ensure good ventilation and lighting.

‘Plant more trees’

The Liberal Democrats have also called on the government to “urgently” invest in heatproofing schools, including by planting more trees and installing clean technologies such as heat pumps.

The party warned that teachers and pupils are reaching “breaking point”, adding that there is a risk of returning to “Covid-era school cancellations” if action is not taken.

A red warning for extreme heat has been extended into Friday, marking the first time the Met Office has issued a red warning for heat over three consecutive days.