School closures Sheffield: Prom postponed and Alton Towers trip cancelled in response to extreme heat

A number of schools in the city have already announced they are closing until the heatwave has passed on Wednesday.

Others are shutting early, allowing for midday pick ups by parents and some are cancelling trips.

One school has even had to rearrange a play for parents by pupils so it could be held at a cooler time of day, and others are relaxing school uniform rules or cancelling PE lessons.

It comes as the Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for extreme heat for Sheffield and much of the country today (July 18), and a red weather warning for tomorrow, when temperatures in some parts will reach up to 42C.

Here are how some schools are responding to the heatwave.

Hallam Primary School is allowing parents to collect their children from 1pm today and Tuesday. The school will remain open as normal, and the kitchen is only serving cold food.

St Wilfrid’s is also offering for parents to pick up their children from 1.30pm if they wish.

King Edward VII School has postponed a pupil trip to Alton Towers, and Maynell Primary has postponed their Y6 prom from Tuesday to Thursday to escape the heat.

Several schools have asked for parents to send their children to school with sunscreen, water and a sunhat. These include Greengate Lane Academy, Stradbroke Primary, Watercliffe Meadow, Lowfield Primary, Sacred Heart Hillsborough and Beck Primary School.

Intake School PE and Deepcar St John’s C of E Junior have both relaxed their dress code, allowing pupils to come in either PE kits or their own clothes.

Grenoside Community Primary School has shut for both days out of safety concerns.

One parent claims the reason for this was the fact the school has a metal roof and is ‘mostly glass’, meaning temperatures in classrooms last week were 9C higher than temperatures outside.

The Department for Education has said it is not advising schools to close during high temperatures but that school leaders should ‘make sure they take any steps necessary to make sure children are safe and comfortable’.