Australia private school bans smart phones, tells parents they can buy Nokia flip phones

A Sydney private school will ban its primary students from using smartphones from next year, telling parents to instead buy Nokia flip phones for students.Cranbrook School in Bellevue Hill, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, said the move came in response to the government’s social media ban for under 16 year old’s, which goes into effect on Wednesday.“We commonly have to deal with issues that have arisen from inappropriate smartphone usage when travelling to and from school, particularly on public transport,” Michele Marquet, the head of the school’s junior school, told parents on Monday, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.At Cranbrook, students are not allowed to use phones during school hours, but students in years 3 to 6 are permitted to have a phone for when they travel to and from school.Under the new policy, which goes into effect next year, the phone students can use before and after school will have to either need to be a Nokia 2660 Flip 4G or Opel Mobile Flip Phone.Both phones retail for under $100, with prices ranging depending on the outlet.“[We] believe that this adjustment will help ensure students remain focused on learning and engaged with their friends during the school day and also when they are travelling to and from school on public transport or on foot,” Marquet said.Cranbrook will join other schools in banning smartphones for students in certain grades, including Sydney girls’ private schools Queenwood, in Mosman, and Pymble Ladies’ College, in Pymble.Students at 80 Western Sydney Catholic schools will also be banned from using mobile phones from the beginning of the 2026 school year.“Though the majority of our schools already have a phones-off-and-away approach, it’s important to make clear that this is the right approach for all our students,” Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese Chief Executive Officer Jack de Groot said in a statement last month.“Of course, there is a place for mobile phones in our lives, but that’s ...