School sparks furious backlash after plans to turn the heating off this October

A secondary planning to shut off the heating for a day in the middle of October as part of a drive has been forced to scrap the idea after pushback from parents.

In an email to parents and guardians, a teacher at Wolsingham School in Durham notified parents that the heating would be off for the school day on Friday, October 18, to conserve .

The former grammar school, which is rated "Good" by Ofsted, was holding the "Blue Nose Day" - thought to have been thought up by students - to reduce the school's carbon footprint and "raise the importance of being more sustainable".

Parents had been told students should "maintain the exact uniform standards as usual, but we are recommending that they wear a black v-neck jumper (if you already have one) or any non-visible layers under their uniform (skins, vest, plain white t-shirt, extra thick socks)".

But in a follow-up email on Tuesday, Headteacher Nick Mitchingham said after "careful consideration" and feedback from concerned parents the plan had been abandoned.

"As you will be aware the students involved in the Climate Action Team have been planning a Blue Nose Day for this Friday 18th October 2024," the email read.

"The event was designed to raise the importance in our school community of being more sustainable and in a small way reduce the school's carbon footprint.

"The date was carefully chosen by looking at average temperatures by month and short-term weather forecasts, indicating a temperature in Wolsingham of approx. 15C on Friday.

"After careful consideration and speaking to several parents regarding their concerns, the Blue Nose Day scheduled for Friday 18 October 2024 will now not go ahead as planned."

The plans caused a stir on social media, with claims that initiative was merely "virtue signalling nonsense", and climate sceptics mocking the endeavour.

reports that one parent said in a video on Facebook that he received the email and was firmly opposed to the idea: "They are sending kids to school with obviously no hoodies, no nothing when no heating is on. This is not a joke.

"Schools, hospitals and children's homes - they should never, ever be turning off the heating in those places."

Voicing relief at the decision to reverse the move, he later said: "Thank God the school has seen sense."

approached the school for comment and was provided with Mr Mitchingham's message to parents announcing the cancellation.