Schools who refused to close during the UK’s hottest day on record have been showing off the ways they have been keeping pupils cool.
While over 200 have ignored government advice to stay open, others have taken the initiative to keep children safe and in learning.
Rhiwbeina Primary School in Wales were the most creative and proudly showed off their pupils in their classrooms.
But there was an extra element not usually present in the usual learning day.
Instead of normal school shoes the youngsters had their feet submerged in cool water under their desks to keep the temperatures at bay.
Meanwhile at Alkrington Primary School teachers came up with a great idea to keep the heat down for the children.
During their normal fruit and milk break they also had tasty ice lollies to enjoy and take the sting off the rising mercury.
And Pear Tree Infant and Walbrook Nursery School had a brilliant take on how to incorporate the hot weather into their agenda.
Instead of normal school shoes the youngsters at Rhiwbeina Primary School had their feet submerged in cool mater under their desks to keep the temperatures at bay
Pear Tree Infant and Walbrook Nursery School had a brilliant take on how to incorporate the hot weather into their agenda
It also introduced a cool area for them to put their feet into cold water if they started to get too hot during the school day
Signs have been posted on the railings at Walton High’s Brooklands campus after the air conditioned school in Milton Keynes was closed
Staff came up with water based activities which also featured ice as children learned about ‘evaporation’.
They added in an online post: ‘Our wonderful children are embracing their learning during this heatwave – lots of water activities and still managed to to do some phonics.’
Parents have hit out at other schools and nurseries that have shut their doors and canceled trips due to the heatwave.
Signs have been posted on the railings at Walton High’s Brooklands campus after the air conditioned school in Milton Keynes was closed during soaring temperatures.
A local mother of two who spotted the signs outside her children’s school said: ‘I don’t know who put these here but I agree with the sentiment. We’ve all had to find alternative childcare just a few weeks before the summer holidays after the kids already missed valuable lesson time during the pandemic. The school is air conditioned – there’s no reason the children couldn’t have been in today.’
Schools in Nottinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire have decided to shut down, while others are closing early on Monday and Tuesday amid warnings that temperatures may hit 43C.
Some sites have allowed students to learn from home, in a return to the remote set-up seen during the pandemic.
But parents have said the ‘totally ridiculous’ situation has led to ‘chaos’ as they are forced to juggle last-minute childcare alongside their jobs.
People out enjoying the hot weather at Tynemouth Longsands in North Tyneside as temperatures rise all over the UK today
The sun rises from behind an apartment block in east London as Britons melted on the hottest UK day on record so far
It comes after Oasis, one of England’s largest academy chains, said its schools would stay open and labeled some establishments’ decision to shut down as ‘irresponsible’.
Britain has already been brought to a near standstill by the national emergency, with trains canceled and Luton Airport was closed yesterday as its runway has melted.
Dr Renee Hoenderkamp, a GP at Christchurch Hall Surgery North London, tweeted that her daughter’s nursery canceled a trip due to the weather.
She said: ‘I am not sure why she is any less safe there than at home.’
Beach goers make the best of the lower morning temperatures at West Bay in Dorset as the Extreme Heat weather warnings
Graduates and their parents cope with the heat in Manchester, as the UK recorded the hottest day on record so far
In response to a tweet from another parent who complained that their child’s nursery had closed, Dr Hoenderkamp said: ‘As a parent, who presumably needs to go to work, what on earth are you supposed to do.’
Dr Sarah Rutherford, head of an organizational culture consultancy, hit out at the ‘totally ridiculous’ decision that some schools are making to shut at midday over safety concerns.
She said it’s a signal of ‘increased Government control and further diminishing our own inherent sense of what’s best for us’.
One father took to Twitter to complain that his son’s school is closed, which is ‘not helpful to those parents who work’.
Another complained that ‘schools have started to take parents and their workplaces for granted’.
They wrote: ‘Thinking those who can work from home can just switch an office day to a home day. Doesn’t work like that. It can be very annoying.’
One Twitter user in London complained: ‘Some schools have closed early here but parents still have to work pure chaos.’
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