Sign up for a full digest of all the best opinions of the week in our Voices Dispatches email
Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter
Banning mobile phones from schools distinctly improves results, a study has said.
More than 90 per cent of British teenagers own a mobile phone, and the study from the London School of Economics has shown that banning the phones reduces inequality between high achieving and low achieving students by removing distractions.
The research took a sample of four schools in four English cities and found test scores increased by over six per cent after banning phones, with low-achieving and low-income students improving the most.
The top 20 world universities by reputation
Show all 21
"We found the impact of banning phones for these students was equivalent to an additional hour a week in school, or to increasing the school year by five days,'' said report authors Louis-Philippe Beland and Richard Murphy.
There is currently no UK government policy about mobile phone use in England, as schools have to set restrictions themselves. However, teachers have the legal right to confiscate items from pupils.
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has said that coasting schools will face faster government intervention under the new Conservative government.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies