Schools let children ditch uniforms during heatwave

One school in Bromsgrove says it wants to let children wear ‘loose, light coloured clothing‘ to help them keep ‘as cool as possible’ when temperatures peak next week

Children are being allowed to wear own clothes during the heatwave (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A growing number of schools are telling children to ditch uniforms as temperatures soar during the UK’s heatwave.

Students across the country are being allowed to wear their own clothes or PE kits during this week and the next to help them keep cool in the scorching weather.

The UK has been experiencing temperatures in their high 20s - and even low 30s - in the latest heatwave.

The weather is expected to get even more intense at the weekend, with the Met Office issuing a rare extreme heat warning from Sunday through to Tuesday.

The forecaster said there could be record-breaking temperatures at the start of next week when the mercury could rise to 35C.

Schools are already making preparations for the extreme heat on Monday and Tuesday.

Rosedale Primary School in Doncaster said it understood parents may be concerned about children’s safety with temperatures expected to soar at the start of next week.

The Met Office has issued an extreme heat warning starting on Sunday (PA)

”Both days will be non-uniform so children can wear something that is comfortable and keeps them cool,” it said in a Facebook post.

The move was praised by parents.

A middle school in Bromsgrove is also letting children ditch their uniforms.

St John’s CE Middle Academy said this would allow pupils to wear “loose, light coloured clothing that will help keep them as cool as possible” as it announced the move on Thursday.

Yew Tree Primary School in Sandwell has already been doing this during this week’s burst of hot weather.

“This week we have relaxed our uniform policy due to the rising temperatures,” it tweeted. “Children are allowed to wear non-uniform all week.”

Other schools are letting children wear their PE kits during the hot weather.

Some, including Dwr-y-Felin Comprehensive School, in South Wales, and Parson Cross Church of England Primary School, in Sheffield, are telling pupils to wear their sports kit for the remainder of the term.

A number of other schools have said pupils can wear PE kits during the heatwave - but emphasised this was not the same as normal non-uniform days.

The Met Office has extended its amber warning for extreme heat for much of England and Wales until the end of Tuesday (Danny Lawson/PA)

James Bowen from the school leaders’ union NAHT said schools will be “doing all they can to mitigate the effects of such high temperatures” on their pupils.

“For most, this will mean making straightforward adjustments such as limiting the time spent in the sun during breaks, ensuring additional water is available, making adjustments to uniform expectations where appropriate, and ventilating classrooms as best they can,” he said.