UK students lost 15 million teaching hours during June heatwave

Research conducted by DeSmog indicates that schoolchildren in England and Wales lost more than 15 million hours of teaching time during a heatwave in June. At least 760,000 pupils missed lessons as temperatures forced over 1,700 schools to either close completely or reduce their operating hours.

Of the total lost time, approximately 5.9 million hours were attributed to direct school closures, while 9.5 million hours resulted from pupil absences at schools that remained open. In some instances, classroom temperatures exceeded 40C, leading to reports of heat stress, nausea, and fainting among both students and staff. In Wales, student absence rates rose above 36 per cent during the peak of the heatwave.

Education experts, including Charlotte O’Regan of the Sutton Trust, have warned that these disruptions may widen attainment gaps. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds are considered particularly vulnerable, as they may lack cooling systems at home or the resources to support learning during closures.