School mobile ban leads to 'uplift in standards'

The Ark Alexandra Academy in Hastings has banned pupils from bringing mobile phones to school

A school which has banned students from bringing mobile phones onto its two campuses said it has already seen "a significant uplift in standards".

The Ark Alexandra Academy in Hastings, East Sussex, introduced the ban at the start of the autumn term, with pupils who break the ban facing having their phones confiscated.

Some parents have reacted angrily, claiming the phones are needed to ensure children's safety on their way to and from school.

The school said it would not be feasible to store so many phones safely during lessons.

Rhys Spiers, the academy's executive principal, said: "Mobile phones are a distraction to learning.

"We explored various options to safely store students’ phones on site during the school day, but the operational challenge of securing nearly two thousand phones daily meant these approaches were not practicable.

"We have proactively communicated with parents and students about the changes to our mobile phone policy, which has already led to a significant uplift in standards across the academy."

The Ark Alexandra Academy has campuses in St Leonards-on-Sea and Hastings

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Mark Rodrigues, whose child is in Year 11, said having a mobile phone helped save them from being attacked.

He told BBC Radio Sussex: "On their way home they have been approached by other children, verbally abused to the point they felt unsafe.

"They were able to phone us and we were able to get to them. We don't know what would have happened if it wasn't for that."

The academy said it was "a misconception" that children were safer having a mobile phone, arguing it made them more likely to become victims of crime if they were targeted by phone thieves.

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