How a new era of heatwaves could shake up the school calendar

While extreme heat or heatwaves can still occur in May and June – or indeed in late August or early September, by which time it’s proposed pupils would have returned to class – breaking up for summer at the end of June could reduce the amount of disruption schools face from the hottest conditions heading into the peak of summer.

And while this August has also been hot and dry, some parents argue that an earlier break would be better aligned with the UK’s typically warmer and drier mid-summer weather. Rebecca Martin says she’d like to be able to “make the most of the more guaranteed summer-like weather in July” planning to spend more time outdoors in a UK staycation rather than going abroad to parts of Europe where the “heat is getting even more extreme and unpleasant”.

Europe is the fastest-warming continent, with temperatures rising at around twice the global average. Like the UK, European heatwaves are becoming hotter, more frequent and longer.

Staycations in the UK could become even more popular. According to 2024 research by Mintel, more than half of UK holidaymakers say they are likely to choose to holiday at home rather than abroad for climate-related reasons. Meanwhile, some 28% say higher UK temperatures are encouraging them to take domestic holidays.

What remains to be seen is how any changes to the school summer holiday could affect the price tag. Aligning the holiday period more closely with Scotland and other countries means there could be more demand in late June and July, potentially pushing the traditional price peak earlier in the year.

Other changing holiday habits – such as avoiding the peak of the summer heat and extreme temperatures in southern Europe – will also play a role.

In a recent national survey by InsureandGo, more than seven in 10 UK holidaymakers thought some European countries like Spain, Greece or Turkey would be too hot to visit in the summer months by the end of the decade.

As travel journalist Simon Calder has said: “A significant shift in holiday habits could push up the cost of a domestic holiday.

“If more people decide to stay in the UK, and others come to Britain because it is more climatically appealing, the rise in demand would trigger price increases. But there are always locations where you can get reasonable deals.”