UK schools face calls for cooling funds after heatwave illnesses

Calls for increased funding to cool school buildings are growing in the United Kingdom following extreme heatwaves that caused pupil illnesses and school closures. In Hampshire, Orchard Junior School in Dibden Purlieu reported classroom temperatures reaching 37.5C during a June heatwave, resulting in 26 children being sent home and one pupil requiring emergency hospital treatment. Hampshire County Council has denied requests for air conditioning, citing limited available capital funding.

In Parliament, Richard Foord, MP for Honiton and Sidmouth, urged the Department for Education to provide cooling and ventilation investment similar to the £32 million recently allocated to NHS buildings. Foord highlighted the experience of Littletown Primary Academy, which closed for two days due to high temperatures, and noted that students described their school environment as a “greenhouse.” While the Department for Education’s Condition Improvement Fund distributed £450 million across 813 projects this year, this represented only one in three applications received.