The BBC“We want to see them engaging with each other in the moment.”
Victoria College in Belfast will provide its 900 pupils with magnetic pouches to keep their mobile phones in during the school day.
The school’s principal, Karen Quinn, told BBC News NI that the move was to help pupils become “good communicators”.
Students and parents were told about the phone pouch plan on Thursday.
In a letter to parents, Ms. Quinn said that, as well as phones, the pouches can store other devices such as smartwatches and ear pods.
“We believe this investment will help reduce the temptation for students to access their personal mobile devices during the school day,” he wrote.
They said phones “can have a detrimental effect on their learning engagement, social engagement at recess and lunch, and their overall mental health and well-being”.
Mrs Quinn told BBC News NI that the policy does not prevent pupils from bringing mobile phones to school, “but they should not use them during the day”.
“There is still a temptation when they have a phone and we know they are using it, so we decided to buy pouches that are safe for pupils,” he said. “
“What we’re going to do is use these pouches with our policy to teach them how to use their phone responsibly.”
‘Digital Detox’
Sarah is a sixth form student at Victoria College and says she will struggle to get used to the change but ultimately thinks it will help her studies.
“The school has our best interests at heart and we will thank them for this digital detox in the future when we get our results,” he said.
Connie, another student at the school, said although she was “shocked at first” she now thinks there will be “long-term benefits”.
“Not for us though because we’re leaving soon, for the younger years when they grow up.
“They seem pretty excited about it, asking if they can decorate the pouches and things like that. So it’s good to look to them to have a positive attitude about it.”
‘I’d better put my phone away’
Charlotte is also a student at Victoria College and said she was “pretty scared at first”.
Charlotte told BBC News NI: “But hearing more about it now, I would really appreciate it when it comes to my test results because I struggle with my phone sometimes. “
“It would be nice to put my phone away and not be distracted at all,” he added.
Unlock as you go.
As soon as students enter the school they have to put their phone in their pouch.
“It locks and you need a magnet to open it,” Ms Quinn said.
“Teachers will have access to the magnet so it can be unlocked if we want to use the phone for teaching and learning.
“At the end of the day we will have magnets around the school and pupils will open their bags as they leave.”
The school told students about the pouch plans during an assembly.
Ms Quinn said pupils had “the reaction you would expect”.
“They have questions, they’re nervous, they’re excited,” he said.
“We’ve asked them to keep an open mind and engage with us so we can get it right for the college.
“In the past we have stopped students in my office or stopped staff to give suggestions.
“There will be pupils for whom it will cause some uncertainty and we just want to work with them and bring everyone along.”
Planned for a year
Education Minister Paul Gavin Schools in Northern Ireland were previously advised. Preventing students from using cell phones during the school day.
But they plan to buy pouches for schools to curb the use of mobile phones. Criticism was faced.
Ms Quinn said Victoria College had decided to provide phone pouches to students long before the minister’s move.
“We have been working on it for just one year,” he said.
The school has financed the pouches for the students from its budget.
“The cost of a pouch is slightly less than the cost of the majority of GCSE or A-Level textbooks,” Ms Quinn said.
“We’ve made a choice in our current budget to prioritize that, but school budgets are tight.”