A venting assembly is provided for an arc chute of an electrical switching apparatus, such as a circuit breaker. The circuit breaker includes a housing and separable contacts. An arc and ionized gases are generated in response to the separable contacts tripping open. The arc chute includes a plurality of arc splitters each having first and second opposing sides, an interior passage, and an exterior. The venting assembly includes a first portion coupled to the first side of at least one of the arc splitters and including a venting segment with first venting apertures. A second portion is coupled to the second side and includes a second venting segment having second venting apertures. The first and second venting segments are spaced from the exterior of the arc splitters to form first and second cooling chambers for cooling the ionized gases. The first and second venting apertures vent the ionized gases.