The Jaume Vicens Vives school in Roses has registered 39.1 degrees in the kindergarten classrooms, the highest temperature measured in the Girona regions by the Aules que cremen platform. The figure places the center well above other educational facilities in Girona that have also exceeded 30 degrees in the final stretch of the school year.
The situation clashes with state occupational risk prevention regulations, which set the temperature for sedentary work between 17 and 27 degrees. In these classrooms, however, at half past eight in the morning, temperatures already reach 30 degrees, and the teaching staff has had to adapt the school day to try to alleviate the heat for the students.
The kindergarten classrooms in Roses reached 39.1 degrees
Meritxell Marí, the school's director, states that the problem is not new and repeats every year. The kindergarten classrooms are built over a skylight that acts like a greenhouse and raises the temperature to a range of between 35 and 39 degrees.
"We want to educate, but with these temperatures, we have to limit ourselves to surviving" - Meritxell Marí, director of the Jaume Vicens Vives school in Roses
For years, the school has sent reports to the Departament d'Educació and the Roses City Council. The response, Marí explains, has been limited to sending basic fans, recommendations to lower blinds, and the replacement of some windows.
Early in the day, the heat already affects ordinary activities. Teachers wet the heads of the kindergarten students and constantly take out the primary school students so they can cool down.
The management advanced part of the curriculum due to the end-of-year situation, although there are still pending exams and evaluations. Marí adds that the center tries to maintain attention to the children and teaching activity at the same time.
"At 39 degrees, adults would refuse to go to work, but instead, no one does anything to prevent children from being locked in a classroom at 39 degrees" - Meritxell Marí, director of the Jaume Vicens Vives school in Roses
Seven other Girona centers also exceeded 30 degrees
The Aules que cremen platform records more cases in the Girona regions. The La Jonquera institute reached 33.6 degrees, the Vallvera institute in Salt reached 33, and the Vilablareix institute registered 32.1.
The El Bosc de la Pabordia school in Girona also exceeded that threshold with 31.8 degrees, the Olivar Gran institute in Figueres with 31.7, the La Bisbal institute in La Bisbal d'Empordà with 31.5, and the Celrà institute with 31. The comparison leaves Roses as the most extreme case on the list.
Marí links the problem to the lack of accumulated investment in old educational buildings, with poor insulation, dampness, and leaks. The director summarizes the effect of these deficiencies with another direct warning.
"You cannot learn with your brain so hot" - Meritxell Marí, director of the Jaume Vicens Vives school in Roses
The Federated Associations of Student Families of Catalonia demand a response from the Generalitat de Catalunya that guarantees air conditioning systems without improvisation. The entity warns that extreme heat affects both the health of the students and their academic performance.
Marí also recalled that there is still a month of classes with exams and evaluations pending in a center where kindergarten classrooms already reach 30 degrees at half past eight in the morning.