Ban phones from classrooms for our children's futures

HERE is a school in London that has banned smartphones from classrooms and improved results by a whole grade.

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Without the distraction of scrolling and social media, students can fully concentrate on their lessons better for their mental health and better for their chances in life.

It was a “struggle” to begin with, said Excelsior Academy head teacher Omar Deria, but the results were almost immediate. “They are more articulate, chattier, nicer, more engaged, not just with the learning but with other people,” he says.

Smartphones in classrooms have proved to be a disaster for learning with teachers concerned about being filmed, while pupils share videos with each other when they should be listening. Mr Deria said 90% of discipline issues were provoked by smartphone use.

All of which makes obvious that a ban on smartphones in schools would be welcomed by teachers, parents and most of all pupils. Experts have noticed that, rather than craving mobile use even more after they get their phones back at the end of the school day, youngsters realise they’ve survived without them and become much more measured in their evening use of phones.