Worthing school goes smartphone free
A Worthing secondary school has announced a ban on smartphones.
Durrington High School said pupils will be prohibited from bringing smartphones onto school grounds from September 1, 2026.
They will, however, be allowed to use ‘brick phones’ before and after school for safeguarding purposes.
All other devices capable of internet access, taking photos or videos, using applications and/or messaging will be banned, according to a new school policy. This includes smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, wireless earbuds, smart glasses and ‘any comparable technology’.
A document, published by co-headteacher Chris Woodcock, said the new policy aims to ensure students benefit ‘from a calm, focused and safe environment where their learning is prioritised and is free from disruption’.
The document reads: “Students must ensure that smartphones and connected devices that are covered by this policy are never brought onto the school site.
"Being in possession of such a device, even if switched off, is a breach of this policy.
“This is because there is a growing body of research that indicates that even the presence of a smartphone (whether on silent or switched off) can negatively impact the attention and cognitive capacity of students.
“In exceptional cases a student may require access to a device for a specific reason."
A ban on smartphones was announced by the UK Government in June, and will be enforced in all schools by September.
The Department for Education (DfE) said it ‘expects schools to implement a policy whereby pupils do not have access to their mobile phone throughout the school day including during lessons, the time between lessons, breaktimes and lunchtime’.
Individual schools can decide how to enforce the rules – for example, some have issued an outright ban, while others have invested in magnetic phone pouches which can only be unlocked at the end of the day.
Durrington High School said it is ‘acting in the student’s best interests by not allowing [smartphones] onsite’.
The document continues: “This is not an anti-tech policy.
"We continue to embrace the benefits of technology and the use of this in a safe way as part of education.
"We remain committed to helping every student thrive in today’s quickly moving world and their futures.”