Head transforms his pupils’ behaviour with total ban on mobiles
A HEADMASTER claims he has revolutionised pupils’ behaviour by introducing a complete ban on mobile phones.
Gregg Davies said the rule has ‘freed’ youngsters from the stresses of social media and allowed them to concentrate on their studies.
The head of £18,000-a-year independent Shiplake College in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, imposes detentions on anyone caught with a handset between 8.15am and 5.45pm.
It means day pupils do not use phones at school at all, while boarders are only permitted in the evenings.
Mr Davies admitted the announcement was greeted with uproar but children are happier now they are relieved of the pressure of ‘constantly showcasing life online’.
Many pupils have stopped fretting about what others are posting and what comments they might be making about each other.
Mr Davies said pupils stay at the lunch table longer and downtime is spent playing sport and having ‘actual conversations’.
‘Phones are less and less of a crutch to pupils,’ he said. ‘Pupils’ well-being has improved as a result of this – being outside, interacting with peers and seeing the world around them has relieved the pressure of constantly showcasing life online. While technology furthers life and learning in many ways, it has been very positive for the pupils of Shiplake to step out from the screens and see the world around them.’
He said sixth formers in particular showed improvements in the ability to ‘discuss and debate issues and events’. The strict rules have also been welcomed by parents, Mr Davies said.
Teachers had worried that children’s communication skills were suffering because they spent less time talking with one another. Staff also have to set an example and can only use their mobiles in offices. However, the school still encourages the use of tablets and laptops as a teaching aid.
The head added: ‘Connectivity was getting in the way of experiencing and communicating in real life, and pupils were losing the ability to engage in social dialogue.’
Staff were also concerned that the constant boasting by some youngsters online might make others feel dissatisfied with their own lives. Mr Davies said: ‘The apparent desperation to only showcase the highlights reel can lead to people, particularly teenagers and young people, to feel left out and depressed, worried that their lives aren’t as exciting as their peers.
‘It is suddenly very easy to hurl abuse anonymously online, or from behind a Twitter handle.’
Dawn Greenaway, chairman of the school parents’ association, said of the ban: ‘It takes away that unnecessary distraction. I think this has been of huge benefit.’
She has two sons, Harvey, 15, and Monty, 14, at the school and said neither was ‘bothered’ by the move. Pupil Emma Wilkinson, 18, said classmates were sceptical at first. ‘As term has gone on, we have all seen a massive change. We all really struggled to meet up when the ban first came in. We had got used to texting each other saying, “where are you?” but now we have to plan where we meet.
‘It has been an almost freeing experience from always being on social media.’
A recent study found a ban on phones helps classroom performance. The research, published by the London School of Economics, found that after schools outlawed mobiles, test scores of pupils aged 16 improved by 6.4 per cent.