Dipping their feet into trays of cold water and taken completely off the normal timetable, sleep-deprived and anxious pupils are struggling to cope as classroom temperatures soar in hot weather14:15, 14 Jul 2026Updated 16:08, 14 Jul 2026They arrived at the school gates already over emotional, exhausted and lethargic after yet another stifling night of extreme heat.‌But instead of tacking maths and English, primary school pupils stuck inside sweltering 40C classrooms spent their week watching films with their feet submerged in trays of cold water in order to keep the temperature down.‌As classrooms baked, schools tried novel ways to mitigate the heat. Hundreds of headteachers asked for pupils to be sent in PE kits, while staff set up makeshift shelters in the playground to offer shade and handed out ice lollies.‌One teacher told the Mirror: "On the hottest day, my children were sat watching a film adaptation of our book in English with their feet in trays of water."We were given permission to come off timetable and spend our days doing art and music. We wanted to try and keep the children on easy subjects - that would be a lot harder in secondary schools."‌Teaching at a primary school in inner London, where many of her pupils live in hot flats, she found many were coming into her classroom "very sleep deprived and uncomfortable".She added: "The children were overtired and lethargic, and often quite emotional. I saw quite high levels of anxiety which was only natural as they were picking this up from the adults around them! I really noticed a lapse in their concentration and focus- but also a lapse in mine"Many school buildings aren't equipped for modern heatwaves, with artificial grass and concrete playgrounds meaning heat was insulated, with few cooling measures. It's rare for a school to have air conditioning, meaning teachers were relying on fans to keep temperatures down.‌In May, the government's climate advisers said that air conditioning should be installed in all schools within 25 years as they warned the country was "built for a climate that no longer exists".Matt Wrack, General Secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, told the Daily Mirror: "Teachers have told us that extremes of temperature in their classrooms are their biggest concern about their school building. This affects pupils' ability to learn and teachers' ability to teach.‌"We believe that a legally enforceable maximum classroom temperature should be introduced, along with investment in greater ventilation, insulation, shaded areas and flood defences in and around schools and colleges in order to make them better equipped to withstand a changing climate and hotter, more intense weather."The primary school teacher admitted to feeling immense anxiety about the situation, but acknowledged the vital role that schools play. She said: "I teach younger children who are highly susceptible to overheating so it causes us quite a lot of anxiety about how we will keep the children safe."I can understand why schools stayed open- we have a duty to safeguard our vulnerable children, to be that safe haven for them, and to make sure they've had a proper meal."‌Currently in the UK over 2.2 million children are eligible for free school meals - making this around 26.5%. All children in Reception, Year 1, and Year 2 automatically receive free school meals. But for older children, they could also be entitled to free meals depending on their household income, while in London, free meals are provided for all primary pupils up to age 11.For some children, this free school meal may be the only dinner they get that day, causing strain on struggling families who had to keep their children at home due to the closures. "I think it's a very hard dilemma, as for a lot of our children, school is such needed place and creates routine and safety," she noted."I think something should be done in the long run about the safety of workplaces, whether that's an upper heat limit or a way of keeping the buildings cool, but this will take time and money- which school budgets don't have."‌With no legal maximum temperature limit for UK classrooms, hundreds of schools shut early or closed their doors entirely in order to keep staff and pupils safe."I think knowing what we know now about the weather and how our summers will continue to be hot, we need to think very carefully about the infrastructure of our schools and our classrooms in order to make sure that we can create a safe environment," the teacher added.‌"We encouraged the children to take their shoes off to try and regulate their temperature better, as well as drink lots of water, however my classroom doesn't even have a fan, let alone air conditioning."I accepted that the children wouldn’t be able to concentrate."The school closures left parents divided. TOWIE star Lydia Bright went viral, after calling it a "madness". The mum-of-one said she was sent an email from her daughter Loretta's school telling her they were closing at 1pm.‌Taking to Instagram, the reality star said: "At 7.15pm on Monday night, I received an email to say the school would be closing at 1pm on Tuesday and now today and Thursday because of the heat."I'm struggling to get my head around it. Children all over the world sit in classrooms in these temperatures every day, without air conditioning. Our children happily spend entire days on holiday in this heat and when we collect them at 1pm we're taking them home to houses that are exactly the same temperature."She then sympathised with other working parents and continued: "Maybe I'm missing something? I'm currently overseas trying to rearrange plans for Loretta and I know I won’t be the only working parent trying to move schedules and commitments. It feels like we're solving one problem by creating another for hundreds of working families.‌Mum-of-two Amy Rankin, 33, agreed, adding: "My son's school sent me an email saying they were going to close at 1pm but my daughter's is remaining open and that they are taking all precautions to ensure the children are all fine."Amy is a full-time carer for her brother, and said if her children didn't go to school they would have to sit in a hot house all day with her instead."They [the school] have ordered gazebos to arrive today and have shaded the majority of the playground. They have also said they have air con and to send our kids in with labelled bottles of water that they can refill as many times as they need.Article continues below"I feel like they are going to be looked after in school and they will probably be happier in a cooler environment. I understand for a non-working parent they might be able to take their kids to a lido for the day, but for parents who actually have things to do during the day it's not really feasible is it?"Accusing schools of hypocrisy, she added: "We have enough half terms so I am sure the kids would survive a couple of days with a bit of hot weather. There would have to be a bomb scare for me to not send my kids to school. We get penalised as parents if we take them out of school for a holiday."