The government’s ban on cellphone use in schools started yesterday, the first day of term two.
The "phones away for the day" policy mandates that pupils do not use their phones throughout the day, including during breaks.
Exemptions to the rule include cellphone use for health reasons, disability or learning support requirements, educational tasks and other special circumstances determined by the principal.
Queen’s High School year 9 pupil Pipiata Ritchie, 13, said she thought the ban would help reduce distractions.
"I think it’s good because it keeps students focused on learning instead of having a distraction," she said.
Fellow pupils Margaux Damsio, 13, and Reolena Cockburn, 13, shared Pipiata’s view.
"It’s good for our education because we’re not being distracted by cellphones ringing."
Principal Barbara Agnew said Queen’s had been implementing its own version of the policy since 2021.
Pupils from year 9 to year 11 could not access their phones throughout the day and had to hand their phones in to the office every morning.
Year 12 and 13 pupils could access their phones during break time and had to put them away in their bags during class.
Ms Agnew said she was very happy with how the school implemented its cellphone ban.
"It worked well for us and our students and I wouldn’t have considered making a change if it wouldn’t have been for the policy."
She noticed more interactions between pupils as a result of the ban.
"Our purpose was around encouraging students to be around each other face-to-face and realise they didn’t need to be attached to their phone 24/7."
She said the shift to the government’s version of the cellphone ban was minimal and the school began practising it in term 1.
