‘We’re chatting more, having more fun’, say Perthshire pupils

Pupils say their lives have improved for the better after a mobile phone ban came into effect at the start of the 201819 term at a private Perthshire school.

Kilgraston girls’ school in Bridge of Earn introduced new rules around handheld devices several months ago amid concerns that pupils’ concentration and social skills were being negatively affected.

Pupils have said other Scottish schools should consider a similar ban, claiming it will help tackle mental health issues arising from the overuse of social media.

Principal Dorothy MacGinty brought in the ban as a way of combating a “growing addiction” between teenagers and their smartphones. She says she is pleased with how the new rules have gone down with her students.

Kilgraston’s 260 pupils can take phones to school and use them before entering the grounds but they must be kept in lockers throughout the day, including during breaks and lunches.

Tablets can be used but only when needed for classes.

Kilgraston pupil Cleodie said: “I think we’re seeing all the positives, definitely. People, when they first heard about it, were like, ‘How do you do it?’ You must find it so difficult’.

“Other people never had phones when they were at school; my parents never had phones and they still managed, so we don’t need them. It’s more of a luxury than a necessity.”

Fellow student Maria added: “I feel like we’re talking to each other more. I feel like we’re having more fun. (Before) we would literally just sit in the common room and not talk to each other.

“We would all be on our phones – chatting to people but through our phones. Now we’re chatting more, we’re having more fun, we’re actually talking.”

I think we’re seeing all the positives, definitely