No AC, Poor Ventilation: Over 1,000 UK Schools Shut as Outdated Buildings Turn Into 'Ovens' During Heatwave

More than 1,000 UK schools have been forced to shut this week as Britain's punishing heatwave turns Victorian-era classrooms into unbearable 'ovens', with pupils and teachers reportedly passing out at their desks.

The mass closures come as ageing school buildings — many without air conditioning, working windows or basic ventilation — buckle under record-smashing temperatures sweeping across Europe. The scale of the crisis has already taken a physical toll on staff.

'We've had members teaching in extremely hot conditions, to the extent that we've had reports of members passing out in classrooms while trying to teach,' said Wayne Bates, a health and safety spokesperson for the teachers' union NASUWT.

Stock Shortages Hamper Emergency Measures

Emergency measures such as portable fans and makeshift AC units have proven futile, hampered by stock shortages and buildings whose asbestos-era construction makes retrofitting cooling systems all but impossible.

Opening windows has also proven a problem, with some allegedly unable to open at all due to the building's age. With these stopgap measures falling short of creating a viable study environment, schools were left with little choice but to close their doors for days.

So why can't schools simply fit air conditioning and be done with it? The numbers explain the impasse. According to Gov.UK, per-pupil funding averages just £8,580, with limited capital streams available on top of that. Set against that figure, fitting an entire school with air conditioning can cost up to £20,000 — a sum most schools simply cannot afford, especially once the age and asbestos-era design of many buildings is factored in, alongside capital restrictions and critical repair backlogs.

Failure To Adjust To The New Normal

The heatwave plaguing London has arguably become a wake-up call, raising urgent questions about Britain's ageing infrastructure — buildings originally designed to weather colder climates, not the extreme heat now gripping the country.

British government climate advisers have stressed as much, pointing out that these old buildings were built for a climate that no longer exists today.

This refers to previous conditions, where buildings were designed to keep people warm during cold winters rather than stay cool through extended periods of high temperatures.

Much of this was already evident as early as June, when schools resorted to makeshift solutions to help students and teachers stay cool amid the punishing heatwave, including handheld fans, water sprayer bottles and pulling down blinds to keep the harmful rays of the sun out. Despite these efforts, the alternatives hardly helped, with reports of students and staff passing out in classrooms while lessons were in session.

'It's not just a future problem. Those impacts are here,' said Richard Millar, the Climate Change Committee's director of adaptation. 'We're not prepared for today's weather, let alone tomorrow's.'

Added Government Funding for Schools Needed

Looking ahead, this climate shift is expected to continue, if not worsen. Schools are already planning to install additional AC units and pursue other initiatives, including planting more trees for shade, fitting external screening onto windows, or using solar film to reflect some of the glare.

While these plans make sense, making them happen is another matter entirely. UK schools have been underfunded for over a decade, following drastic cuts during austerity measures in the 2010s — funding that has never recovered.

Dave Woods, a teacher at Beaconsfield Primary School in west London, offers a glimpse of the current predicament. He admits that installing air conditioners is essential, but funding remains the obstacle. Even where funding might be found, the structure of many school buildings makes them poorly suited to holding AC units in the first place, meaning a quick fix may not be immediately feasible.

For now, the only option for many schools is to find cost-efficient ways to combat the punishing heat. Tree planting is one step in the right direction, though far more solutions are needed. Ultimately, it comes down to securing the funding required to help educational institutions cope with the new normal.