SCHOOLS across the Wellington area are closing or sending children home early, cancelling sports activities, and postponing examinations this week after the Met Office upgraded a heatwave warning to its highest level of red.

The Met Office is forecasting dangerous temperatures reaching 39C on Wednesday and Thursday (June 24 and 25), with it likely to be 37C even in the shade.

Court Fields School, Wellington, headteacher Polly Matthews said the school would close at 12.40 pm on Wednesday and Thursday.

Mrs Matthews said: “My priority is to ensure the health and safety of staff and students, and, although we have already put in place mitigations, such as PE kit, water stations, room changes, fans in classrooms etc, we will need to take further action with the temperatures predicted to hit 38 degrees.

“I have measured temperatures throughout the day across the school, with most classrooms recording levels in excess of 31 degrees by lunchtime.

“Therefore, I have taken the decision to shorten the school day on Wednesday and Thursday.

“This will ensure we balance face to face education with reducing exposure to extreme temperatures in classrooms during the afternoon, when the heat accumulation means temperatures are at their highest.”

Kingsmead Academy, Wiveliscombe, which is part of the Cabot Learning Foundation, will close at the end of Tuesday (June 23) and not reopen until Friday.

Year 10 exams which would have been held on Wednesday will be rescheduled, although planned exams on Friday will still take place.

Kingsmead’s annual sports day, which was scheduled for Thursday, has been postponed and will now be held later in the term.

Headteacher John Eddy said the two-day closure was ‘in order to ensure the safety, health, and wellbeing of our pupils and staff’.

Mr Eddy said: “We have taken this decision following careful consideration, as high indoor temperatures can make learning difficult and pose health risks, particularly for younger children and anybody with underlying health conditions.

“We have an additional water station outside at break times and the hall is open at break and lunch as a larger inside space for students to access.

“We will be asking teaching staff to set some tasks on ‘class charts’ for students to complete while they are not in school.”

Mr Eddy said it was a trust-wide decision fully supported by Cabot and in line with measures being taken by other local schools.

Pupils of Uffculme School will be sent home at 12.30 pm on Wednesday and Thursday due to the high temperature forecast.

Headteacher Laura Jenkins said: “After carefully considering the amber weather warning that is in place for Uffculme and the red weather warning that is in place close by, we have taken the decision to shorten the school day.

“The decision has been taken with the welfare of students and staff in mind.

“This allows us to ensure we balance face to face lessons with reducing exposure to increasing afternoon temperatures in classrooms.”

An air conditioning fault in the school’s The Venue has forced the cancellation of Tuesday evening’s Peri music concert.

Mrs Jenkins said: “We are absolutely devastated that this has had to happen, but unfortunately the situation is completely out of our control.”

She said rehearsals had been ‘fantastic’, and the hard work and dedication which had gone into the event was ‘truly appreciated by everybody involved’.

The group will still be performing at Uff Fest on Wednesday, July 8, and the school will arrange a new date for the Peri concert as soon as possible.

St John’s Church of England Primary School, Wellington, will close at 1.30 pm on Wednesday and Thursday, although the school will look after children until 3.15 pm for parents unable to collect them earlier.

Headteacher Olly Priestley said monitoring had shown that 1.30 pm was a time where classrooms temperatures started rising significantly and pupils were beginning to flag.

Mr Priestley said: “Guidance from the Department for Education has been that they want schools to remain open.

“But, this also needs to consider the conditions that the community is working in, which has been uncomfortable for many, particularly in the afternoon.”

Mr Priestley said the children could wear non-uniform on the two days which would allow parents to choose clothing which was cooler.

Pupils will continue to attend as normal at Beech Grove Primary School, Wellington, but headteacher Claire Joyce told parents in a letter: “The safety and well-being of your children is our absolute priority, and we have put clear plans in place to keep them safe and cool.”

Ms Joyce said daily routines had been adjusted to manage the rising temperatures and there would not be any outdoor PE sessions while those indoors would be ‘entirely non-strenuous’.

Extra shaded and cool areas had been opened across the school, shaded gazebos would be erected on the grounds, with the support of the school’s friends group, and cool indoor spaces woud be open during break times.

Ms Joyce said: “We are fully aware temperatures are expected to rise further as the week progresses.

“We will continue to monitor this and adapt our risk assessments as necessary.”

Pupils of Isambard Kingdom Brunel School, Wellington, will also attend as usual throughout the heatwave.

Headteacher Andrew Wootton said regular water breaks would be encouraged and time outside wld be limited, with shaded areas available throughout the day.

Children in Wiveliscombe Primary School were being allowed to attend in PE kit on Tuesday and the school’s sports day was postponed until a later date.

A decision was awaited news on whether it would follow Kingsmead’s decision to close on Wednesday and Thursday.

Headteacher Cameron Mann said West Buckland Primary School was fortunate to have air conditioned classrooms but would close at 12.30 pm on Wednesday and Thursday because of the red alert.

Langford Budville Primary School, which is part of the Moorland Federation, will fully close on both Wednesday and Thursday.