Best Schools - Independent school gives pupils alarm clocks to replace 'distracting phones'

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Independent school gives pupils alarm clocks to replace 'distracting phones'

A school has handed out free alarm clocks to students in an effort to stop mobile phones interrupting their sleep.

Heather Hanbury, head teacher at Lady Eleanor Holles in west London, advised parents to ban phones, televisions and computers from their children's bedrooms.

"Students often claim they need their phone to wake them up in the morning," Mrs Hanbury told the BBC.

But she said mobile phones were distracting them from sleeping.

"Young people are regularly online, dealing with social media distracted by the idea of missing out if they're not online," she said.

Every girl in the Senior School in Hampton - 700 students in total - was given an alarm clock at an assembly marking World Mental Health Day.

The £20,000-a-year private girls school also carried out workshops for students on how "to rewire an anxious brain".

Schools must provide a 'moral compass' for young girls, leading headmistress says

It is now up to schools to provide a “moral compass” for young girls, as parents are no longer bringing up their children with traditional values, a leading headmistress has said.

Hilary French, headmistress of Newcastle High School for Girls, said that today’s teenagers are lacking a “homespun common sense approach”, adding that schools must “step in for the benefit of the girls”.

She explained how a number of changes in society - including the breakdown of the extended family network and the waning influence of the Church - have led to a decline in moral authorities that influence girls as they grow up.

This means parents are under greater strain to provide an ethical framework for their daughters, which they are often unable to do since they are struggling to cope with the same cultural pressures themselves.

Mrs French, who is chair of Girls’ Day School Trust heads’ committee, said urged parents to consider the consequences of allowing their children unfettered use of technology and social media.

“We all think technology is fantastic but actually unintended consequences are things we need to think about,” she said. “We almost have a broken generation and nobody has intended that to happen, but we need to act.”