Pupils give up mobiles on ‘phone-free Friday’

PUPILS at Christ College in Brecon are voluntarily handing in their mobile phones on Fridays to avoid the dangers of phone addiction.

The youngsters have decided to make the last day of the school week “phone-free Friday” after an assembly showed how teenagers are becoming increasingly dependent on their phones.

The assembly was given by Christ College’s deputy head Simon Hill who had uncovered some research that showed the effect of phone addiction on young people’s emotional development and wellbeing. Following the assembly, phones and their addictive nature continued to be a hot topic in house meetings and tutor groups.

Now as many as 90% of the youngsters hand in their mobiles at the beginning of the school day and only pick them up in time for the weekend. It means they go the whole day, including during breaks and after school, without texting their friends and checking their social media feeds.

Mr Hill said: “At Christ College we already have a no-phone policy during and between classes. We wanted to empower our pupils to make informed decisions about how they regulate their mobile phone use. We have seen pupils’ interactions increase markedly during lunch and after school on phone free Fridays. We have all seen the benefits of the reduced time they have spent on their phones.”

The initiative started in November and continues to increase in popularity.

Milly Davies, a Christ College boarder said: “Since phone-free Fridays came in, I find myself talking to more people in the sixth form centre in person rather than spending my break on my phone. It’s refreshing.”