MOBILE phones will be banned at Barham High School from later this year.
The newly-elected State Government said the statewide ban delivered on an election promise to reduce distractions for high school students.
It would mean students must not use their phones during school hours from Term 4.
They were already banned in NSW primary schools.
Premier Chris Minns said parents were worried about their children texting and using social media during class.
“I know a lot of adults who find it difficult to concentrate when a mobile phone is in front of them, so I don’t know why we expect children to have that kind of discipline in them,” he said.
Mr Minns said the government would not specify how schools should keep phones out of students’ hands, but said locked pouches and lockers were options.
“There are low-cost and no-cost options that are available to them,” Mr Minns said.
“It may be as simple as making sure mobile phones are in a student’s bag and can’t be taken out during the school day.”
Mr Minns said there was evidence in other states, and in the UK, that the ban improved learning outcomes.
“In the UK the benefits were felt the highest among the students with the lowest scores,” he said.
“They received double the increase in scores that the average students in their cohort were able to achieve.”
South Australia, Western Australia, Victoria and the Northern Territory have also banned phones in public high schools.
