Eton students being forced to swap their iPhones for Nokia dumbphones

Incoming students at Eton – the most famous of Britain’s private boarding schools, and whose alumni include many of the country’s prime ministers – are being told that they must leave their iPhones at home for the whole school year.

Their SIM will be transferred to a Nokia dumbphone which is only capable of phone calls and texts (and, I guess, Snake) …

Eton

Confusingly for Americans, private schools in the UK are known as public schools. That’s because they were once the cheaper alternative to home tutors. Eton, more formally known as Eton College, is the most famous of these.

It’s a boarding school, meaning students live there 24/7 during term time, and fees cost more than $60,000 per year.

Students must swap their iPhones for Nokia dumbphones

With growing concern about the potential for smartphones to distract students from their studies, Eton had previously required students to hand over their phones at the end of each school day.

However, CBS News reports that this year’s incoming students are being told that their iPhones must stay at home (we can safely say iPhones, as no Eton student is going to have an Android phone …).

Parents of first-year students at Eton were informed of the changes in a letter, which said  that incoming 13-year-old boarders should have their smart devices taken home after their SIM cards are transferred to offline Nokia phones provided by the school.

The policy takes effect as of the start of the next term, in September. Older students remain subject to the previous rules, including not having their phones in the evenings.

Part of a growing clampdown

The move is just the latest example of schools trying to deal with the problems caused by students spending more time on their phones than on their studies.

• Ban smartphones in schools, says UN (one in four countries already does)
• Smartphone ban in schools backed by California governor

Photo: Alwye/Wikimedia/CC4.0 (cropped)