Broadcast timeline
Sky News — Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow
Thursday 13 August 2026 · 10:00 BST · 30m · 5 stories · 15 annotated moments · 24 of 30 min on news stories (81%)
Broadcast overview
An AI-generated overview based on this broadcast's transcript.
The broadcast opened with coverage of A-level results day, reporting that the proportion of top grades awarded in England, Wales and Northern Ireland rose for a third consecutive year to 28.5%, with a record 262,820 UK 18-year-olds accepted onto degree courses so far. It noted that Home Office visa rule changes could reduce new international student numbers by up to 10%, and included an interview with Skills Minister Baroness Smith about university funding pressures, alongside reactions from students and staff in London and Leeds, including a T-level student and a Ukrainian refugee heading to study law.
Following the results, the programme turned to the UK heatwave, forecasting a possible 38°C, the hottest day of the year, with amber warnings in place. It reported new NHS statistics showing 2.49 million A&E attendances in July, and cited the Royal College of Nursing describing nurses collapsing, seizures, and hospital conditions 'not fit for humans' due to heat. The segment also featured a mother's emotional account of her 16-year-old son Mohamed Sekar, who drowned in a lake during a May heatwave, with her urging greater awareness of open-water dangers.
The broadcast then summarised other news: Colombia's president reported 165 deaths from Monday's earthquake with hundreds missing, prosecutors unsealed documents in the case of Rob Reiner's son accused of stabbing his parents, and retailers warned a ban on zero-hours contracts could harm young people's job prospects. Finally, it covered the previous day's solar eclipse, showing crowds in Cornwall witnessing a 96% partial eclipse, and reporting a total eclipse across parts of Europe, including Mallorca, where viewers experienced 90 seconds of totality, with a light-hearted note about a sports correspondent's view being blocked by a bus.
- 0:15 Story begins A-level top grades rise for third consecutive year
- 2:09
Claim A-level top grades rise for third consecutive year
A record 262,820 UK 18-year-olds were accepted onto degree courses, a 3% increase on the same point last year.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 13 August 2026, 2:09-2:26
- 2:26
Claim A-level top grades rise for third consecutive year
A-level entries awarded A or A* rose for a third consecutive year, reaching 28.5%, up from 28.3%, the highest proportion on record outside pandemic-affected years.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 13 August 2026, 2:26-2:34
- 2:40
Claim A-level top grades rise for third consecutive year
Tightening of visa rules could lead to a drop of up to 10% in new international students.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 13 August 2026, 2:40-2:48
- 5:48
Charged quote A-level top grades rise for third consecutive year
because the students have been coming into the front door, going down the corridor, through the doors, into the hall to collect those envelopes. I mean, it's absolutely terrifying stuff, a mixture of excitement and nervousness. But we've had a lot of laughter and smiles today, some tears, but they were of joy and Dan has got a big smile on his face.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 13 August 2026, 5:48-5:52
- 8:26
- 8:30
Claim UK set for hottest summer on record with amber heat warning
Temperatures could reach 36 to 38°C, with a chance of breaking the August record of 38.5°C.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 13 August 2026, 8:30-8:36
- 9:12
Claim UK set for hottest summer on record with amber heat warning
Temperatures could reach 36 to 38°C, with a chance of breaking the August record of 38.5°C.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 13 August 2026, 9:12-9:24
- 9:18
Claim UK set for hottest summer on record with amber heat warning
Wales had its hottest August day on record, at 35.3°C.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 13 August 2026, 9:18-9:24
- 9:28
Charged quote UK set for hottest summer on record with amber heat warning
Still, very hot weather is really the story, but the temperatures will start to dip. Today, we have the amber heat warning out for central and eastern parts of England because it is still that very hot, dangerous spell of hot weather. The temperatures will start to drop, so we're looking at 38 today, but down to 34 tomorrow.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 13 August 2026, 9:28-9:35
- 10:01
Charged quote UK set for hottest summer on record with amber heat warning
Certainly Scotland and Northern Ireland could see some thunderstorms as we go through the afternoon today, so slight changes coming with the weather over the next few days, but ahead of that today, really quite hot and uncomfortably so, and tropical night to follow, I expect, with temperatures staying above 20 all night.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 13 August 2026, 10:01-10:07
- 11:05
Charged quote UK set for hottest summer on record with amber heat warning
So really hot swell of weather. There's no surprise. We're talking about this summer being the hottest ever recorded in the UK. So very hot weather continuing. It could be 38 today, which is warmer than blood temperature, and that for me is too hot, which is why I'm standing in the shade at the moment.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 13 August 2026, 11:05-11:15
- 12:00
- 12:09
Claim Nurses collapse in hospital heat as A&E pressure rises
A&E attendance in July was 2.49 million, with a daily average of 80,244, slightly lower than June's record.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 13 August 2026, 12:09-12:28
- 14:14 Story begins Drowned boy's family promotes Float to Live campaign
- 14:27
Claim Drowned boy's family promotes Float to Live campaign
At least 15 people drowned during a heatwave in May, including Mohamed.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 13 August 2026, 14:27-14:32
- 16:38
Claim Drowned boy's family promotes Float to Live campaign
At least 15 people drowned during a heatwave in May, including Mohamed.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 13 August 2026, 16:38-16:43
- 16:38
Claim Drowned boy's family promotes Float to Live campaign
At least 15 people drowned during a heatwave in May, including Mohamed.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 13 August 2026, 16:38-16:43
- 16:52
Claim Drowned boy's family promotes Float to Live campaign
Mohamed Sekar's mother is urging greater awareness of the dangers of open water.
Sky News, Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow, 13 August 2026, 16:52-16:57
- 18:03 ~3 min without annotations
- 21:30
Source: Sky News, "Sky News Today with Gareth Barlow", Thursday 13 August 2026. Transcript excerpts and stills are shown only to support the analysis annotated alongside them. Search-result excerpts are distinct from the editorial annotations — see our copyright basis. The full broadcast is not reproduced.