Rising summer temperatures are prompting fresh calls to reconsider the timing of the school year in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, where pupils remain in class until late July, often coinciding with peak early-summer heat and exam periods. This year's extreme conditions saw over 1,000 UK schools close or send children home early, with Baroness Brown of the Climate Change Adaptation Committee and Ofsted's chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver both warning that high classroom temperatures harm children's concentration and performance, particularly during GCSE and A-level exams.

BBC analysis shows the UK's first 30C day now arrives on average by 19 June, compared with 13 July in the 1960s, while this summer is expected to be the hottest on record, featuring five widespread heatwaves and four consecutive months above 35C. A record 38C was recorded in Lingwood, Norfolk, on 26 June, prompting a red extreme heat warning from the Met Office and multiple amber alerts from the UK Health Security Agency; the Met Office says the UK's "hot season" is lengthening into May and September, fuelling debate over whether the school calendar, unlike Scotland's earlier holiday pattern, needs to change.