Thousands of schools across Europe are trying to fix new solutions to protect children from the heat.
With such episodes becoming more frequent and intense, many schools are not able to adequately protect children from the heat.
Around 1,000 schools across England and Wales have shuttered or shortened the school day, while authorities said attendance had dropped at those remaining open as parents keep children at home. French Education Minister Edouard Geffray said that 13,500 schools were closed or placed on special schedules on Thursday due to the heat.
BRITISH TEACHERS FAINTING IN CLASS
Relatively few schools in Europe are equipped with air conditioning systems, leaving classrooms sweltering as temperatures peak.
British teaching union NASUWT said several of its members passed out in class on Tuesday when temperatures reached 40 degrees Celsius in certain classrooms particularly exposed to the sun.
“Schools are simply not equipped to deal with these kinds of temperatures,” said Wayne Bates, NASUWT’s national lead for health and safety.
Teachers in France were resorting to improvised solutions to mitigate the heat. Some taped emergency blankets to windows or used screwdrivers to break into those stuck shut and brought their own fans and misting sprays to school, said Sophie Vénétitay, general secretary of SNES-FSU, the main union representing French middle and high school staff.
High classroom temperatures have a direct impact on learning, researchers have found. A 2019 study published in the journal Building and Environment concluded that lowering the temperature of a classroom from 30 C to 20 C improved performance by 20%.
Paul-Emile Perret-Porret, 17, a high school student in Paris, said his parents booked an air-conditioned hotel room for him the night before his baccalauréat — France’s critical school-leaving exam — so he could get a good night’s sleep.
“If you can’t sleep the night before the exam, the heat makes it even worse. So it’s great to spend the night in air conditioning and be in good shape,” he said.
Traditionally, Southern Europe has more experience handling summer heat. Most schools in Spain shift to a half-day in June and September to avoid the afternoon heat. Spain, Greece and Italy also break for the holidays in mid-June, earlier than schools in European countries further north.
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