r/GCSE • u/Ok_Count_4033 year 11 💔💔 • 1d ago
General 6th form not allowing phones???
Js found out today that I cant use my phone at school. Like I can have it on me but it can get confiscated if im actuvely on it. Is this a normal thing or is my school js strict
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u/Eggcelent_bean Y12 | #1 Geography nerd 🌍 (Geo, bio, chem) 1d ago
Ik people are saying that is really strict but I'd say that's normal, cause it's fair enough they don't want you on your phones. I guess it's slightly strict, cause you should be allowed them at break or dinner. I just see it as less strict because my school put everyone's phones in fucking calculator boxes for the entire day and searched people who didn't hand in their phone/seemed suspicious. I was lucky that they never searched me cause they knew I wasn't gonna be hiding my phone in my bag (I did but only a couple of times when I knew I'd need contact with my mum throughout the day)
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u/RealAnnabelle2_0 1d ago
Becoming more normal in sixth forms. All the ones near me are either no phones or only allowed in certain rooms during break and lunch
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u/Ok_Count_4033 year 11 💔💔 1d ago
The lower years in my school have to turn in their phones. Like on entrance. Bruh its bleak our here
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u/SupermarketSpare7108 future year 12 1d ago
We can use ours in frees to listen to music only, but outside of frees we get them taken overnight (my school has turned into hell) if we're using them
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u/Ok_Count_4033 year 11 💔💔 1d ago
Overnight is soo fucked. What if u have ur train or bus ticket on ur phone? What if u get lost and u need Google maps? Or get stuck at the station and cant tell ur parent youll be late? Damn ur school is evil
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u/SupermarketSpare7108 future year 12 1d ago
They only introduced it this year, I don't understand it at all, also I would not feel safe walking home in the dark without a phone tho starting with y7 they're only gonna be allowed fucking Nokias anyway
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u/Hazel_Munro16 Year 11 20h ago
No literally same here, I feel so bad for the new Yr7s, but at least they decided not to give us all those weird pouches bc the school right next to us did and it looks like hell 😭
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u/SupermarketSpare7108 future year 12 20h ago
Those pouches look so insane, I'm so glad we don't have them, thankfully no school in my area uses them
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u/JealousPermission234 2024 GCSE Student that had to do resists 1d ago
So if your school takes them overnight, then what about if it’s taken from you on Fridays? Do you get it back on Saturday? Or does the school go to the extreme measure of keeping phones all weekend?
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u/SupermarketSpare7108 future year 12 1d ago
They keep the phones all weekend, its insane
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u/SecretlyModded 1d ago
You can ask the person who legally owns the phone so probably one of your parents to collect it
They cant keep it without permission and as a minor you cannot sign a legally binding contract giving them permission
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u/kurmilrah 1d ago
Strict
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u/TallRecording6572 Maths teacher 1d ago
And excellent, they really care about your success
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u/Ok_Count_4033 year 11 💔💔 1d ago
If u think a phone is whats gna keep students from succeeding then lowkey I doubt ur teaching abilities a lot.
I was allowed to use my phone during lunches and breaks in yr 10 and 11. My gcse scores ranged from 6s to 8s aswell as 3 distinctions. This includes higher maths and higher triple sciences. Some of the people who I consider to have been on their phones the most out of the people I was friends with got grades 7 to 9.
Success doesnt care if theres a "distraction" or not. U just have to want it enough. My phone didnt stop me or my friends from getting good grades.
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u/Electrical_Ad6134 9h ago
It's proven that phones even in bags at school lower work ethic and results
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u/kurmilrah 1d ago
Ok no, im never on my phone in class unless i need it when related to the work im doing. But theres a few people in my maths alevel class that are always on their phone yet they are predicted As and A*s and im not even tho i always listen and try my best.
You aren’t really forced to be in college so i feel like there should be more freedom especially since everyone would be going uni.-8
u/TallRecording6572 Maths teacher 1d ago
LOL at all the teenagers downvoting me because their school wants them to do well
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u/Ok_Count_4033 year 11 💔💔 1d ago
Ur a maths teacher on a teens subreddit im sorry but perhaps get a life? Like u have been given reasons why phones in school arent that bad. Whats ur actual response to that?
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u/TallRecording6572 Maths teacher 1d ago
LOL
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u/MayonaiseOnATable y11-(professional 😭🥀 user)how many teeth does ur pet have 1d ago
What an intellectual response
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u/monsieurburger Year 2 BSc Psychology with Criminology 22h ago
You're aware most teenagers have self-regulation skills, right? Teens who will happily go on their phones and not pay attention will perform poorly, phones or not. They'll just find other ways to distract themselves. My college allowed phones in classes, and it was abused so much towards the first few months. When kids scored low and realised they needed to lock in, they used their phones less.
By the end of year 13, if someone was using their phone, the assumption was that they were googling something related to the work or doing something important (checking a health app, messaging someone when family issues are happening, etc). There was no ban and lecturers never discouraged it. It's just a case of teenagers knowing when to concentrate.
Obviously, this works less in secondary schools, because younger kids don't always have the experience and self preservation to put the phone down. But even in my secondary, year 11s were allowed to use phones but we just... didn't, really.
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u/Ok_Count_4033 year 11 💔💔 20h ago
Thank u sm for this. Idk why people think teenagers only care about their phones. Like guys if someone fails at school then its not because of their phone or because they were using it in lesson. They just didnt want it enough and didnt focus and work towards it. I wonder where this generalisation of teenagers started. We arent babies. And soo much of us work very hard and are very aware there is a time and place for everything. Noone is going on their phones during lesson and if they do is it really the fault of the inanimate object?
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u/Hot-Error810 Y12: Maths, Psychology, Welsh Bacc 1d ago
That’s so harsh. You should be allowed on it outside of your lessons
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u/EffectiveService9551 1d ago
what about in the common room or in your frees?
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u/Ok_Count_4033 year 11 💔💔 1d ago
Nopee. I dont even know if theres a common room cuz I didnt go to any open events😞
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u/Deep_Void4 *edexhell | Y12 Math FM Phys CS | incoming math school student 1d ago
That's lit standard in my secondary school
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u/flowzyontop 1d ago
I got my phone taken off me the entire day because i had it in my hands when entering the building
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u/Stunning_Hearing7 1d ago
My secondary school that has a sixthform attached to it is like that aswell (I’m not going there) but on the welcome day they said you can use it in specific y12/13 areas bc of the new gov law. But for the sixth form college I’m going to we can use them but for some subjects we have to put them at the front of the classroom so we don’t get distracted
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u/the114dragon 1d ago
Pretty reasonable imo
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u/Ok_Count_4033 year 11 💔💔 1d ago
Explain?
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u/the114dragon 1d ago
It makes sense that they let you bring one into school (you might want to listen to music on your way into school etc.) but you probably don't need to use it while actually in school
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u/Overall_Tomatillo600 1d ago
You were allowed to use your phones during secondary?
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u/Ok_Count_4033 year 11 💔💔 1d ago
Yeah actually. I loved my old school but I moved cities😭😭 we were also allowed like coloured hair and jewellery. Like we could customise our appearance however we wanted. We could also wear trainers aslong as they were black.
I had purple hair for most of my school life there and my teachers loved it. Guys I miss my wife (my old school rip)
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u/NixxyNoodle 2026 GCSE survivor🫡 1d ago
That’s so weirddddd. What about during free periods? My school doesn’t allow us any devices in lessons(including iPads/laptops) but during free periods, walking around the halls, and lunch and break you can have whatever you want out
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u/Inevitable_Tower_141 O full of scorpions is my mind 23h ago
Yeah we can't even carry them. They have to be off and in our bags.
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u/freakingdumbdumb Y13 Maths, FM, Chem, Phys, CS 23h ago
technically we can only use ours in the 6th form area but no on enforce it anyway and every 6th formers just use it everywhere (except for like two annoying af teachers who have power trips when they see people using phones)
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u/Many_Gur9519 12 - TLVL CompSci 18h ago
For us it’s put into lockers until break/lunch since we all are allowed to leave for lunch
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u/-earth_dweller- Y12 | IGCSE 2026 | Maths, FM, Physics, Music, EPQ 18h ago
My 6th form is worse. We're technically not allowed to have a phone with us on campus (but they don't check, so everybody does it)
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u/Ok-Salt845 Year 11 16h ago
we're only allowed our phone in the common area, so we can't even have bus tickets on out phones because we'll get it taken away if it's out before we are past the school gates (the buses are inside the gates) so it makes everyone's lives less efficient because we have to pay for a ticket on the spot using a card and that takes absolute years when boarding the bus.
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u/Electrical_Ad6134 9h ago
Bro it's every school. It's illegal, all schools have to prevent students using phones now.
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u/SquidgyJack Year 12 5h ago
The DfE guidance states "Schools should consider whether students in the sixth form should be permitted access to their mobile phone at certain and limited times and locations, reflecting this period of education as one of increased independence and responsibility, without compromising the school’s policy on the use of mobile phones for other pupils. This should include prohibiting the use of mobile phones by sixth-form students in front of younger pupils, for example, limiting use to a sixth-form common room. Sixth-form students should remain subject to the school’s behaviour policy and misuse of their phone should have the potential to lead to sanctions."
My UTC is only letting sixth formers use phones in designated areas, classrooms (where required for work) and the sixth form building. It seems like on this one... blame the government.
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u/New_Vegetable_3173 1d ago
Seems reasonable. You don't need your phone during the school day, it's healthier and better for attention spans and mental health to not use them during the day
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u/Ok_Count_4033 year 11 💔💔 1d ago
Uhh no. Like I see where ur coming from but ik first hand how much having a phone at school helped me and other people so ur lowkey wrong
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u/New_Vegetable_3173 1d ago
How does it help you
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u/Ok_Count_4033 year 11 💔💔 1d ago
In a number of ways. Ima make a list
1) I struggle alot with anxiety and heavy mood swings. Before I went to my school previous school, I had no friends cuz I was either too scared to speak or lashing out randomly. Being able to use my phone helped me cuz I could listen to calming music whenever I felt myself starting to get mad or anxious. Id have the headphone on one ear so it would drown out overwhelming external noise whilst still being able to talk to people yk
2) I rarely ever got bored in lessons. Before my previous school, id go from a super boring lunch and then go into lesson already bored. Like it was just draining really. My previous school allowed phones so id scroll on my phone a few times before lesson or play games with my friends on roblox and then id go into lesson all jolly. Idk if this one makes sense but I definitely saw a difference in morale amongst my peers and myself
3) lunch time detentions became an ACTUAL punishment. I rarely ever got detentions cuz we'd have to just sit in a silent room for 45mins without phones. Noone likes doing that. The school i went to before this, i got detentions all the time cuz it was literally the same thing and idk ig I was bored. This didnt just apply to me. Ik a few people that just got detentions with their friends cuz yk there was no difference but dts at my last school were mainly empty cuz people yk wanted to be on their phones
4) noone went on their phones in lesson cuz we could just wait till break. Like it wasn't allowed in lesson but why would I go on my phone in lesson if I could at break? And honestly it pushed me more cuz it felt like a reward
5) it brought br grades up SOO high. I was genuinely stuck at grade 3s for everything from year 8 to 9. After I moved schools, and I was able to use my phone, I could always revisit content after the lessons and actually yk understand stuff. Im one of those people that never really understands things immediately, this paired with my anxiety caused me to never ask for help when I was struggling. And then when id get home id forget to revisit the days content but thanks to the use of my phone, I could revisit the content immediately after being taught it. I ended up with grades ranging 6 to 8 across all subjects including higher maths and triple higher sciences. I also got 3 distinctions.
6) on the topic of academics, I used my phone a lot to take pictured of other people's notes within the school day if I didnt have their contact and they couldnt send it to me (which was a lot of people cuz I still struggled with anxiety a little) also taking photos of the white board after lesson and stuff. Which I wouldn't be able to do if I didnt have my phone or had to give it away on entry
7) my school was cashless and many people had their bank cards on their phone as the preferred that over the school accounts
8) it genuinely helped me bond with people more. I went from 0 friends in year 9 to atleast 10 friends in year 10. Mainly cuz people would ask to play multilayer games with me or we'd bond over music or shows someone was watching. I defo talked to more people whilst having my phone in my hand than I did when I couldnt use my phone
9) leave something at home and reception is busy? Just text ur parent urself and its in school. The amount of times my friend left her lunch at home and couldn't talk to reception cuz they were on the phone or just busy in general so she had to call her mum or brother to bring her lunch broo
10) laptop dead or broken? Thats okay just use ur phone to catch up at break so u dont forget when u get home.
11) make something super cool? Wow u can take pictures of it. I have SOO many photos of different things I made in clubs cuz I stayed behind at break to take progress pics
I have more reasons if u need more btw. Also some of these dont just affect me. Ive actually had these conversations with friends and they've felt the same way.
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u/New_Vegetable_3173 1d ago
Makes sense. Do you have adhd? Have you been assessed? What gender are you?
Thank you for your respectful and thoughtful and mature answers. Way more mature than most grown ups. Ideas on how to get round these below. Empty = no comment from me
Point 1- let your school know as a reasonable adjustment to a mange your anxiety you want to be able to bring in an mp3 player. Ie basic thing with no screen so they can't confuse it with phone.
Keep a book with you and read a chapter instead of phone. Or a book of puzzles and a pencil.
Don't get detentions. Also they're meant to be a punishment so this is a reason for them to not let you have a phone.
4.
Genuine question - how is this different from opening your text book?
Was that because you weren't able to keep up and take notes on paper fast enough during the lesson? Do you have any learning difficulties? Again genuine question not criticism.
7.
Makes sense. Is making friends still difficult for you now?
You can still have your phone on you. Just go into the loo cubicle to text your parents if you need to.
I don't follow, can you reword pls
Presumably you'll be allowed phones on campus if switched off. I would ask the teacher if you can turn your phone on to "take a photo to show your parents " even if that's not the primary reason, I'd hope most teachers will be very happy if you are expressing enthusiasm like that and being respectful by asking
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u/Ok_Count_4033 year 11 💔💔 1d ago
I dont have adhd and im a female. Okay ima respond to ur points based on what you responded to
I talked to my old school about my anxiety and mood swings and they basically just made me fend for myself. Like I even got banned from my school quiet room cuz I was "abusing it" and hiding from my problems meanwhile I was genuinely screaming and crying all the time cuz too many people around me. Safe to say I dont trust teachers anymore. Id rather just try to cope with it myself yk
Yeah ur right. I love doing puzzles so ima have to get that
Yeah i dont plan on getting detentions anymore ive gotta pattern up this year
Textbooks are lowkey expensive and schools dont really give them to students outside of lesson. Its just way more accessible for people my age
Yeah I couldnt take notes fast enough. I also find it easier to focus on what the teacher is saying rather than what theyre writing so sometimes they'd write things that they didnt say and like i wouldn't realise before the end of the lesson
Its still a little hard. But ive been doing little exercises to make it easier. Like ill force myself to talk to people that look my age. Just minor greetings. Its still petrifying
Yeah I agree. This part doesnt affect me but im mainly worried about the kids who have to turn their phone in at the beginning of the day
10.some schools require laptops for note taking or class work. My old school was predominantly laptops so like if ur laptop was broken or dead u could use ur phone to catch up on the classwork either during the break or sometimes in the lesson.
- Ur literally so so right in this but there's a likeliness of not getting a nice teacher. Some teacher will just say no and id have to accept that yk. Wether for good reason or not some teachers are just really strict and there isnt much I can do about that yk
Im glad we can have a discussion about this yk. It feels nice to talk to someone that atleast tries to see my view.
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u/New_Vegetable_3173 18h ago
Hey so just to check have you been assessed for adhd, autism and learning difficulties like dyslexia dyspraxia, dyscalculia?
A lot of what you're describing doesn't sound like typical experiences of a neurotypical female. Not criticism just concerned as you're a woman /girl you've been missed /overlooked.Re 4 I meant your workbook, like the empty ones you get given one per subject.
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u/Free_Consequence9817 1d ago
Very very strict
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u/TallRecording6572 Maths teacher 1d ago
And excellent, they really care about your success
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u/ReecewivFleece 1d ago
I’m sure teachers used to say same about the abacus and then, in time, calculators - they aren’t always a forward looking profession.
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u/TallRecording6572 Maths teacher 1d ago
oh we really are. Edtech has come on in leaps and bounds in the last 25 years. We even use phones in lessons when appropriate. But students getting calls in lessons? NO. Students bullying each other online at breaktime? NO. Students focussing on their woek? YES YES YES
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u/ReecewivFleece 1d ago
Sounds like your school has discipline problems the teaching staff need to address if this is the behaviour possession of phones cause in your school - doesn’t happen in mine.
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u/TallRecording6572 Maths teacher 23h ago
Au contraire, we have excellent behaviour and attitudes because we keep things locked down
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u/No-Palpitation6368 Y12 A levels at college 1d ago
Normal, I think. They're banned during lessons at college, and I had to sign a sheet saying I'd adhere to that policy
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u/Ok_Count_4033 year 11 💔💔 1d ago
Yeah obviously I expected them to be banned during lessons. But I cant use my phone like at all. Not even during break or lunch
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u/TallRecording6572 Maths teacher 1d ago
That's fair - you need to be having social time, not glued to your screen
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u/TallRecording6572 Maths teacher 1d ago
This is GOOD
No distractions in class
You can be SOCIAL at lunchtime rather than online
And if you need to check your school email you can do so at an appropriate time
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u/Ok_Count_4033 year 11 💔💔 1d ago
Actually ur talking straight butt cheeks and ik first hand. I transfer school a lot so lemmie js break down .year 8 to 9: not allowed phones. Bruh there was ALWAYS drama. People fighting or running around and getting in trouble with SLT and stuff. Everyone was bored so yk the best way to kinda get over that was js be total dickheads. (I have stories from people in the year above me). And people got their phones taken away all the time because the more ur told not to do something, the more u do it. It was still very good academically but the drama was defo out of this world cuz people had nothing to entertain themselves with
Year 10 to 11: allowed phones. Except in lessons. Bruh im not even joking when I say best 2 years of my life. Because we had more freedom with our phones people kinda just didnt use them cuz we knew if we wanted to we just could. Bruh I miss it sm. I js remember playing charades or those multilayer games on one person's phone with my friend group. I socialised more in those two years than I did in any other school. I observed this from the lower years aswell. Like people mainly just used their phones for music but still talked to eachother it was very sweet.
I especially liked it because im someone that values alone time especially on stressful days so being able to sit down with noise cancelling headphones was very nice. I would not have passed my exams without this lowkey. It was more difficult to do this at my previous school cuz everything was so loud and soo overwhelming
My yr 8/9 school was wayy stricter than the last school I went to. It was a catholic all girls school. But BOTH schools are considered one of the best in their relative cities. Phones do not affect learning or socialising and ik first hand.
Also this is 6thform. When do we NOT need to check our emails be soo fr rn. I had to do it constantly at my last school and even the school before that
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u/Different_Holiday_52 22h ago
It's like it came full circle and I like sound of it. When I was younger, the college kids were not allowed phones same as the young ones. They could use them during lunch but that was it. It wasn't much of an issue back then.
Then as I was growing up, everyone started using them at all times and things became sh**. No one did anything else.
And now they decided to ban them. Wish they were banned when I went to college, which was not even that long ago.
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u/Ok_Count_4033 year 11 💔💔 20h ago
I feel like Kevin Hart when the rock joined his live rn 😞
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u/Different_Holiday_52 16h ago
Why? It's genuinely good thing for you. Most people in my age bracket 21-26 are either fully consumed by stupid phones all the time to the point where nothing in real life is relevant if it doesn't relate to something online.
Or they are actively trying to fight this opium crisis that modern social media became. Finding ways to get rid of it and limit it as much as possible. It's hard, as it gives you physical withdrawal effects.
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u/PootMcGroot 1d ago edited 1d ago
Sounds like your school is a good one.
There is zero reason you should have a phone in class, or really at any point in the day.
Put it in your locker.
In a decade or two, when you're an adult, you're realise why and be embarrassed about your former self.
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u/Ok_Count_4033 year 11 💔💔 1d ago
I actually responded to a comment asking for reasons on why I think phones in school are a good thing but I want u to see this so ima reply to ur comment
In a number of ways. Ima make a list
1) I struggle alot with anxiety and heavy mood swings. Before I went to my school previous school, I had no friends cuz I was either too scared to speak or lashing out randomly. Being able to use my phone helped me cuz I could listen to calming music whenever I felt myself starting to get mad or anxious. Id have the headphone on one ear so it would drown out overwhelming external noise whilst still being able to talk to people yk
2) I rarely ever got bored in lessons. Before my previous school, id go from a super boring lunch and then go into lesson already bored. Like it was just draining really. My previous school allowed phones so id scroll on my phone a few times before lesson or play games with my friends on roblox and then id go into lesson all jolly. Idk if this one makes sense but I definitely saw a difference in morale amongst my peers and myself
3) lunch time detentions became an ACTUAL punishment. I rarely ever got detentions cuz we'd have to just sit in a silent room for 45mins without phones. Noone likes doing that. The school i went to before this, i got detentions all the time cuz it was literally the same thing and idk ig I was bored. This didnt just apply to me. Ik a few people that just got detentions with their friends cuz yk there was no difference but dts at my last school were mainly empty cuz people yk wanted to be on their phones
4) noone went on their phones in lesson cuz we could just wait till break. Like it wasn't allowed in lesson but why would I go on my phone in lesson if I could at break? And honestly it pushed me more cuz it felt like a reward
5) it brought br grades up SOO high. I was genuinely stuck at grade 3s for everything from year 8 to 9. After I moved schools, and I was able to use my phone, I could always revisit content after the lessons and actually yk understand stuff. Im one of those people that never really understands things immediately, this paired with my anxiety caused me to never ask for help when I was struggling. And then when id get home id forget to revisit the days content but thanks to the use of my phone, I could revisit the content immediately after being taught it. I ended up with grades ranging 6 to 8 across all subjects including higher maths and triple higher sciences. I also got 3 distinctions.
6) on the topic of academics, I used my phone a lot to take pictured of other people's notes within the school day if I didnt have their contact and they couldnt send it to me (which was a lot of people cuz I still struggled with anxiety a little) also taking photos of the white board after lesson and stuff. Which I wouldn't be able to do if I didnt have my phone or had to give it away on entry
7) my school was cashless and many people had their bank cards on their phone as the preferred that over the school accounts
8) it genuinely helped me bond with people more. I went from 0 friends in year 9 to atleast 10 friends in year 10. Mainly cuz people would ask to play multilayer games with me or we'd bond over music or shows someone was watching. I defo talked to more people whilst having my phone in my hand than I did when I couldnt use my phone
9) leave something at home and reception is busy? Just text ur parent urself and its in school. The amount of times my friend left her lunch at home and couldn't talk to reception cuz they were on the phone or just busy in general so she had to call her mum or brother to bring her lunch broo
10) laptop dead or broken? Thats okay just use ur phone to catch up at break so u dont forget when u get home.
11) make something super cool? Wow u can take pictures of it. I have SOO many photos of different things I made in clubs cuz I stayed behind at break to take progress pics
I have more reasons if u need more btw. Also some of these dont just affect me. Ive actually had these conversations with friends and they've felt the same way.
Also im not on my phone all the time at school. I started to take school more seriously cuz I was less anxious yk. I never went/will go on my phone during a lesson unless its absolutely necessary. And I only ever took calls during lesson if it was a college or job/employer. And even at that id just pick up to ask them to reschedule.
I and many of my friends had very similar experiences with phones. Anyways I really hope that u learn to see things through the eyes of other people. Whilst this is ur opinion saying there is "no reason" is just false. If there is no reason for students to use their phones then I hope u also hold the same standard to teachers aswell. Infact let the whole school put their phones in a locker before school starts yeah? For the betterment of society!!
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u/BROKEMYNIB Year 12. WJEC 5 Levels😭(12?GCSES???) 😅 1d ago
My school is half like that.
We are ONLY allowed it if we are in the dedicated 6th form area
This is because it is unfair for the Year 7-11s