Encouraging children to leave their smartphones at home could improve their schoolwork more than you might think.
According to research published by the London School of Economics, schools that ban pupils from carrying mobile phones show a continual improvement in exam results. In fact, the findings calculated that pupils at mobile-free schools received the equivalent to an additional hour a week in school, or an extra week's worth of lessons per year.
Schools in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Leicester took part in the
Technology, Distraction and Student Performers study, which found that test scores improved by 6.4 per cent when phones were banned.
Report authors Louis-Philippe Beland and Richard Murphy said that they found not only did student achievement improve, but also that low-achieving and low income students gained the most.
"Banning mobile phones could be a low-cost way for schools to reduce educational inequality," the authors concluded.
