- Nearly one in five school sessions in England were missed on 26 June, the peak of last month's heatwave, with an estimated 18.4 per cent pupil absence rate.
- This figure represents the highest daily absence rate recorded so far during the 2025/26 academic year, coinciding with temperatures of 37.7C and a “red” weather warning.
- The absence rate rose steadily throughout the week of the heatwave, climbing from 6.8 per cent on 22 June to its peak of 18.4 per cent by 26 June.
- Over 1,000 schools either closed or partially closed on the Thursday and Friday of that week, according to the Press Association, with many citing the extreme heat, lack of air conditioning and travel risks as reasons.
- Education secretary Bridget Phillipson had urged parents to send children to school if they remained open, warning “every day of absence and lesson missed has a cost”.
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