How common is air conditioning in private school classrooms?

[ParentOfOne]

How common is it to have air conditioning in private schools?

I don't mean just the principal office or the staff room, I mean the classrooms where pupils are.

We are a state school family, but I have heard lots of colleagues complaining that their expensive private schools don't have aircon, so I was wondering how common that is.

Also, how common is it to have private schools built llike greenshouses? In the state sector, quite a lot, because I think that for a while guidelines prioritised heat retention and sun exposure, without taking into account that the weather is not that of 200 years ago any more.

Ds used to attend a private school and dh taught i none. Ds and dd have also done summer schools like NYMT and dance residentials in various private schools over the years. None had air con.

*Edited to say that a couple did have air con in their theatres only).

This is true for DD’s school. Whilst the old, main listed building doesn’t have aircon, DD has never complained about the heat due to the thick stone walls, high ceilings and tiny, drafty windows.

In the winter however, she is freezing.

The private school I’ve been in (5-6 of them) do not have air con. One of them has an air conditioned sports hall.

I wonder if private schools are just likely to send kids home as they know it will disrupt working parent who pay fees? So people just assume it’s aircon?

Are you this upset about the state school pupils sweating away this week? You seem overly concerned about a small minority especially given you’re not directly affected.

@karmakameleon I am concerned about the future. Because, if the reactions on this thread, are anything to go by, my fear is that this issue will never be addressed properly. And I don't mean just the schools, I mean in general realising that heatwaves are no longer once in a blue moon type of phenomena. The attitudes of many on this thread are the same attitudes of those who say London buses don't need aircon because it never gets hot here.

This is the crux of the issue:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06/25/britain-heatwave-net-zero-left-millions-without-air-con/

archived: https://archive.ph/QD6BM

We haven’t got it, unfortunately!

London buses definitely need air con. They get grim in the heat.

However my children are saying that generally their schools are fine (some hotspots that everyone is avoiding but generally ok) and the adults that look after seem to think it’s fine, so I’ll trust them. And I’ll trust that the school will reassess periodically.

Given the more significant issues in education, I think there’s plenty to prioritise for the limited funding available over AC.

@Pacificwave Surprise, surprise, that article, like anything the Torygraph publishes, is full of half truths and outright falsehoods.

For example, the article should have mentioned that installing aircon became permitted development in England, subject to certain restrictions.

To recap: aircon was NOT permitted development for 14 years of Tory government. It became permitted development in the first year of a Labour government.

So, no, you cannot accuse Labour of banning aircon FFS!!!!!

Having said that, I'll be the first to admit that planning rules remain insane.

It is bonkers that we need planning permissions for external shutters or external blinds, which would help reduce the overheating.

It is bonkers that most freeholders are allowed to refuse aircon, external shutters, external blinds, etc.

I'll also be the first to admit that many councils are overzealous, and that Camden's strategy of actively discouraging aircon is bonkers

At the moment, we have regulations that put up barriers to installing active cooling. Feel free to blame the previous government.

If you want more air conditioning on buses, in schools, etc. the regulations need to be reconsidered. At the moment we have a Labour government. We can only now get change through them.

The climate is getting noticeably hotter. While we may have previously focused on mitigation, we now need to focus on adaptation.

@Pacificwave

At the moment, we have regulations that put up barriers to installing active cooling.

What part of "aircon became permitted development in May 2025" was unclear?

Feel free to blame the previous government.

It's not about feeling free, it's about being objective. I am no fan of Starmer, but it remains an undisputable fact that his government made aircon permitted development in the first year - something the Tories failed to do over 14 years.

There remain serious obstacles, many rules remain bonkers, and many councils remain over-zealous - I absolutely admit all of that. But you cannot accuse the government which made aircon permitted development of wanting to ban aircon!!! That's Russian level of disinformation...

If you want more air conditioning on buses, in schools, etc. the regulations need to be reconsidered.

Is there regulation against aircon in buses? I wasn't aware. Can you please elaborate?
In schools, is the obstacle regulation or cost?

A big problem is that too many buildings (houses, blocks of flats, schools) over the last few decades have been built with the aim of maximising sunlight and heat retention, while completely ignoring they'd become greenhouses in the summer.

Air conditioning is not automatically permitted in flats where the need arguably is greatest. It’s not permitted automatically if you live in a conservation area. London is in a very hot corner of the UK with a heat island effect and a lot of flats and conservation areas. That’s a lot of people suffering and not allowed to get on with it.

I understand not wanting to have ugly gen-sets clipped onto the front of buildings. But councils are going waaay beyond those considerations and imposing an ideological agenda instead.

@Pacificwave I agree with all of that, 200%!
I am not saying the problem is solved. I am saying that Labour in 1 year did more on this than the Tories in 14 years.

For flats, the main problem is the archaic leasehold structure. Abolishing leasehold will probably never happen, sadly, but at least the government could pass a reform preventing freeholders from unreasonably denying consent on things like aircon, external shutters etc.

The ideological capture of many councils is another sad reality. Hard to purge councils of out of touch ideologues. But the government could extend permitted development to include shutters, blinds and awnings.

Yes, but they also have much longer summer holidays so usually perhaps less need. Until this year...

DH works in private, no aircon . I'm in state. No aircon except in a recently built theatre hall and that's because it is leased to the public (who then assume we have aircon in all buildings!) . Also, even though they look shitty, new mobile classroom units tend to come with aircon.

Ours doesn’t. The building is about 200 years old.

Our school is 500 years old and doesn’t have air con

My daughter didn’t have any in her school, she went to the same place for 16 years. They did put up some reflective film on the windows and used fans in the summer.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2ejll1gzjo

If anybodys fridge freezer conks because of it they should take the ruined food and dump it in Camden Councils offices

It is very hot. But it has only been very hot this week and during half term (when the children were off school).

It’s weird that when people talk about private schools, they always seem to mention Eton. It’s one (large) school - about the same size as my old comprehensive - and hardly any schools operate like Eton.

The really elite schools often have Grade 1 listed buildings so no, they don’t have air con throughout. But they often do choose to move the lessons to somewhere else that is more comfortable. And the children can wear games kit or their own clothes in a heatwave. They also break up for summer really early - last Monday for Harrow, tomorrow for Eton, next Wednesday for Westminster.

I have 3 children at 3 different private london schools. 2 have air conditioning, 1 doesn't.
I have heard anecdotally this week that many don't have it in classrooms including whitgift and epsom.

A woman phoned into this debate and revealed that Camden Council have replaced the windows in her tower block with larger ones like a glass wall. Shes on the 12th floor. the tenants protested but CC insisted they had to have it done The same council that is insisting households take out their air con is fitting stuff to make ppl fry in their homes.

Link doesn’t work for me. But yes, we should take local seriously and vote for responsible people. Not on vibes.

Apart from the big names most private schools are run to tighter margins than state. We all have fantastic astros, pools, theatres to lure you in via glossy marketing but no textbooks or aircon. I work in a big hogwarts style building like a castle which should have been cool but my classroom was over 32 degrees. It was probably unsafe for the children and staff at those temps and also no fans but we couldn’t close as we get complaints. I think state schools are better resourced now since vat.