The streets surrounding Crowborough had a subtly strange quality by Wednesday morning. There were no groups of teenagers wearing blazers. There are no younger children crossing at the lights with big backpacks. The Beacon Academy was shut down. Chailey School in South Chailey was also. In actuality, dozens of other businesses in East and West Sussex were closing their doors hourly.
The heatwave that has forced Sussex schools to close has happened quickly, but it wasn’t totally unexpected. Temperatures have been rising to levels that most British buildings, including schools, were never intended to withstand due to a “heat dome” that has settled over western Europe. A red heat warning was issued by the Met Office for Kent, Surrey, and Sussex from Wednesday at 9 a.m. to Thursday at 9 p.m. Wisley, Surrey, was predicted to reach 37C, while Hastings and Crawley were predicted to reach 36C. For comparison, the UK’s June record, which was set in Hampshire in 1976, is 35.6C. It might be broken this week.
Although the architectural styles of British school buildings vary widely, very few of them have air conditioning. The majority rely on windows, fans, and the hope that things won’t get too bad. That hope faded rather quickly this week. East Sussex College announced that it would close all of its campuses on Wednesday and Thursday. Early finishes were announced by schools such as Hailsham Academy and Uplands Academy in Wadhurst. Priory School in Lewes, Polegate School, Turing School in Eastbourne—the list continued to grow through Tuesday night, nearly faster than local councils could keep up.
The prolonged intensity is what sets this week apart from earlier warm spells. It’s not just the heat during the day; according to the Met Office, the nights are also exceptionally warm, depriving employees and students of significant downtime. Speaking to a local outlet, a teacher in West Sussex put it simply: by ten in the morning, you can open every window in the building and it still feels like a greenhouse. Asking teenagers to focus under such circumstances eventually ceases to be education and becomes something else entirely.
The Department for Education is in a somewhat awkward situation as a result of Sussex’s heatwave-related school closures. According to the DfE’s official guidelines, which prioritize attendance, schools are typically not advised to close during hot weather. However, teaching unions vigorously resisted. Any expectation to continue as usual, according to Daniel Kebede of the NEU, is “dangerous” and “reckless.” In a direct letter to the government, the GMB union requested emergency measures, such as improved water access, decreased heat exposure, and increased cooling. It’s difficult to argue that those demands are irrational after reading them.
The practical disruption is real for parents. A few families were notified after the deadline. Others had to make last-minute childcare arrangements. It was helpful that a few schools offered to keep kids on site during the suspension of the official school day. The Buckingham School in Buckinghamshire, which is not in Sussex but faces similar circumstances, completely switched to online instruction so that students could complete their coursework at home. Although it’s not a perfect solution, considering the situation, it makes sense.
Beneath all of this is a larger question that the UK will likely need to give more thought to. Summers like this one are becoming less remarkable. Only four years ago, in July 2022, the UK set an all-time temperature record. A once-in-a-generation occurrence is beginning to resemble a pattern. Schools in Britain were not designed to withstand 37-degree weeks. The majority weren’t even designed for 30-degree weeks. It remains to be seen if this is altered by investments in shade, ventilation, or actual cooling infrastructure. Sending the kids home has been the only solution for the time being.
