Smartphone-Free Schools See Better GSCE Results: Think Tank

Children at schools with an effective mobile phone ban are more likely to have better GCSE results than in schools with looser policies, a think tank has reported. Policy Exchange said in a report on Tuesday that secondary schools where mobile phones are prohibited are more than twice as likely to be rated “outstanding” by Ofsted. The findings are based on 800 Freedom of Information requests sent to primary and secondary schools across the UK. The investigation found that most primary schools—84 percent—had an effective ban on smartphones. In secondary schools, that number was down to 11 percent, with just over a half practising a type of ban in which phones are still allowed in students’ bags....