Principal at top UK school: We took our boys’ smartphones – and they thanked us!

THE headmaster at one of the UK’s most prestigious boarding schools, Eton College, has revealed he is confiscating mobile phones from younger boys at night to ease the ‘pressures of social media’.

The school, which educated Princes William and Harry, is asking all first-years to hand in electronic devices before bed so that they can sleep without intrusion.

Speaking yesterday at the Girls’ Day School Trust conference in London, Eton headmaster Simon Henderson said: ‘Our Year 9 [the equivalent of first year in Ireland] pupils have to hand their electronic devices in overnight...We thought there was going to be an outrage among the boys but actually they really welcomed it.’ Pupils, aged 13 to 14, are the youngest at the £40,000-a-year (€45,000) school in southern England. The boys are asked to hand in their devices at 9.30pm and they get them back when they wake up.

If there is a reason why a boy should have their phone, such as homesickness, they can get permission to keep it.

Mr Henderson said the policy had worked well and that he was considering rolling it out to older pupils also.

‘We brought it in to reduce the amount of screen time they were exposed to, to give them a break from the pressures of social media,’ he said. ‘They appreciate... not feeling the social pressure to... reply to messages instantly. They think it improves their sleep.’

Meanwhile, the chief executive of Britain’s health service has said the NHS must not be left to pick up the pieces from irresponsible social media firms. Simon Stevens warned of mental health problems among young people triggered by services such as Facebook.

Some 60% of teachers in Irish schools support a ban on smartphones in schools, while 41% of pupils were in favour, according to a recent study by exams website, Studyclix. ie. Last week, French MPs voted to ban smartphones in schools for children under 15, beginning this September.