To feel sorry for Scottish children?

[silver3]

Imagine having to go back to school in this suffocating heat in new blazers and school shoes. I know September can be warm too but, it seems to me, there’s nearly always a heat wave like this in mid-August. My DC have been sleeping in the basement on and off for weeks because their bedrooms are like saunas. Schools don’t always have air-conditioning. AIBU to think Nicola Sturgeon should just push the start of term back to Sept?

YABU. Back end of August is always cooler. It would make sense to have 2 weeks in May, bring UK Summer forward a week and cut it a week short.

I live in Scotland but grew up in England, and going back to school in August always seems weird to me

Conversely, having gone through the Scottish system, breaking up for summer holidays around the 23rd July seems to me about three weeks too late.

London 32⁰C
Edinburgh 17⁰C

Lol. Heat in Scotland rarely gets to suffocating levels.

How can it only be 18 in Glasgow when it’s mid 30s here?

That's a joke, right? I took this thread seriously but now I'm assuming it's a wind up?

Yes July can also be too hot, but It less predictably stifling in July than August. It’s always mud-August you get the 35 plus temperatures and here in London (and I imagine other cities) it’s too much on public transport etc. High 20s is one thing, but you notice how lethargic you feel once you get past the low 30s.

Maybe it’s global warming, but the weather has changed. I’m not sure when, but it has.

Also, mine break up in the first week of July anyway.

This is so funny.

YABU to think the start of term in Scotland should be moved from when it always is because you've made a guess at the temperature based on what it's like hundreds of miles away.

And weather comes in swirls of cloud/heat/cold and sometimes (usually) you get a big cold/rainy/cloudy swirl across the north, while the south has higher pressure and no clouds.

Also Glasgow is loads rainier than Edinburgh though it's only 50 miles away. Because the rainclouds come from the west.

@silver3

How can it only be 18 in Glasgow when it’s mid 30s here?

Sorry, I had just assumed it myst be about 30 up there.

You're actually serious as well, aren't you? 😳

OP, look at the weather forecast next time? Are you for real?

This is classic Londoncentricity! I am in southern England, but out west. It has been total cloud cover all morning, sun just coming out now, 21 degrees according to my phone. Has been pretty much the same - cloudy in morning, sunnier and warmer in afternoon, but nowhere near record temperatures - all the way through this 'heatwave'.

South East Englanders: consider occasionally the rest of the UK does not have the same weather as you!

Do Scottish schools finish up at the end of June or earlier? Irish primaries, north and Republic, are off all July and August. (I daren't mention secondary holidays in the republic). I always assumed it was because extra help was needed around farms.

YABU

How is it any different from English and Welsh children being in school in July? (I don’t know the NI tern dates I’m afraid). For all we moan about British weather, we do generally have at least some warm weather in term time whenever you have the summer holidays, because “summer” isn’t just 6 weeks long

Surely schools being sensible about uniform policies and allowing children to remove blazers is a lot less radical than changing the term dates of an entire country

I think this is a stealth boast.
Beat it with your 30 degrees, OP. If it ever reached 30 in Scotland the world would end .

I cannot begin to tell you how rarely we deal with days of 30c+ in Scotland. It’s a handful of days per year, if that, and almost always in June and July rather than August.

Different parts of the world have different climate patterns OP. That’s all it really comes down to.

I don't think 35 degrees plus temperatures will be bothering anyone in Scotland no matter what month of the year it is because that's higher than the highest ever recorded temperature there...

AIBU to think Nicola Sturgeon should just push the start of term back to Sept?

YABU is the polite way to put it.

Do you really think that the timetabling of whole Scottish education system is going to be reformed on your (incorrect!) musings?

Sorry OP, but if an epic fail here I afraid.

@eggandonion Normally last week of June or first week in July, until around now. 6 weeks-ish

@Kittytheteapot

This is classic Londoncentricity! I am in southern England, but out west. It has been total cloud cover all morning, sun just coming out now, 21 degrees according to my phone. Has been pretty much the same - cloudy in morning, sunnier and warmer in afternoon, but nowhere near record temperatures - all the way through this 'heatwave'.

South East Englanders: consider occasionally the rest of the UK does not have the same weather as you!

This ^^

I was going to say I'm embarrassed to be a Londoner but actually I'm not.

I'm embarrassed that the OP is a Londoner 😳

Can you imagine the price of holidays in holiday time if Scotland made their holidays fit in with English ones!

Scottish parents would be very unimpressed. There's a reason most families go on their holidays abroad at the start of the holidays in Scotland.

My friend in Edinburgh said it was pissing down the other day when it was boiling in London.

Where in Scotland are you?

Glad if he's got some heat, he's been a bit jealous!

How can it only be 18 in Glasgow when it’s mid 30s here?

Atlantic weather systems, latitude, the Gulf Stream? Didn't you do ANY basic geography at school?

“How can it be only 18 in Glasgow when it’s mid 30s here?”

To be honest it’s not unusual for it to be scorching in Glasgow and miserable on the east coast of Scotland , or vice versa. And they’re less than 100 miles apart in many cases!! To answer your question though, the weather front currently being experienced in England (particularly the south east) is coming in from Europe - it’s not reaching north of the border really!!

Bloody auto correct (and ironic to boot)

I meant "bit of an epic fail"

I'm Central Belt. We've had less than a handful of days with half decnt weather for the last 6 weeks of official school holidays. It is just getting round to tipping it down for the rest of the day as I write.

Kids are going back to school in comfy clothes to facilitate as much outdoor learning as possible in between the torrential downpours. If it is ever warm enough (extremely rare but occasionally in June) our primary traditionally moves to outdoor classroom format as much as possible.

School uniform is not really much of a "thing" in the way described in the Op either. ie shorts and polo shirt in school colours, as opposed to ties and blazers, is always fine if you're not freezing. More likely scenario is dispense with the blazer and tie in favour of a jersey and padded anorak.