Latest news with #ExcelsiorAcademy
Daily Mail
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
London headteacher brags his school exam results have jumped a grade since he introduced a no-nonsense ban on phones despite Labour claiming policy is unnecessary
A London headteacher boasted about his schools improved exam results thanks to a strict phone ban, despite Labour branding pleas for a policy to bar devices from classrooms a 'headline grabbing gimmick'. Excelsior Academy in Hackney, east London, saw their average A-level grades jump from a C to a B in the last year. And the school's headteacher, Omar Deria, 45, has boiled down their recent success to barring phones at the academy. Describing the impact as 'miraculous', he explained new rules mean a pupil's caught using such devices can have them taken away for as long as a week. Recalling his first day at the school in 2022, Mr Deria said the students were 'glued to their phones scrolling.' Although the headmaster confessed it was a 'struggle' to tear the children away from the tech at first, he claims they thank teachers when results day rolls around. 'The impact in the classroom has been nothing short of miraculous. You are dealing with completely different people, their personalities are different,' he said. 'They are more articulate, chattier, nicer, more engaged, not just with the learning but with other people in general.' It comes after the Government rejected demands for a blanket ban on mobile phones in classrooms amid fears they are damaging educational standards. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson previously rejected a Tory call for tougher action to limit social media exposure, saying the plea was a 'headline grabbing gimmick'. The Government argued headteachers and schools already have sufficient powers to remove mobile phones from teachers. A study from the University of Birmingham also found phone bans in schools didn't have any positive effect on students. The study monitored 1,227 students from 30 schools across England - 20 of which had restrictions on using phones during school time. Their analysis found no connection between phone bans and higher grades, improved mental wellbeing, or better physical health. However, this may be because banning phones fails to reduce the total amount of time children spend on smartphones and social media throughout the week. The bans only succeeded in reducing smartphone and social media use by 40 minutes and 30 minutes per day respectively, as pupils made up the difference at home. However, Excelsior Academy headteacher, Mr Deria, alleged most of his school's behavioural problems stemmed from online, as students became 'unrecognisable' in their behaviour'. 'Around 90 percent of problems we deal with come from online. It gets brought into school and then that takes up a lot of our time,' he added. 'Kids have a completely different personality online. There are so many truly lovely students who go online and become unrecognisable. 'If we can ban phones then we can reduce peer on peer abuse and sexual harassment. If mobile phones are not banned in your school, then they are asking for trouble.' Students have also sung the praises of the new ban, with one student saying it helps encourages them to learn by reducing distraction. Cilen Garip, 17, explained they are able to get more done as they are less distracted by funny videos being shared around classrooms. 'Students were always on their phone in their free time, and it distracted not only them but the people around them,' he said. 'They would show a funny video around and it would distract the whole room. 'Now we can use that time to revise, and I think we get a lot more done. I don't even bother bringing my phone in anymore. I don't miss it.' 16-year-old Hamz Hussain, who hopes to go on to study engineering at university, revealed the ban has helped his ability to focus on the schoolwork at hand. 'Sometimes I miss it but that makes me realise how distracting they can be,' he added: 'Since it started in September, I have found myself revising way more. 'It means that all our work is finished in school and we can enjoy free time more at home. I appreciate having my phone in the evening more now that it is gone in the daytime. Another peer, Falma Hashi, also divulged its improved their ability to socialise in person as they play card games and talk more often without their phones in hand. 'Yesterday we played some card games and just talked rather than all sitting alone on our phones, head down not talking,' they said. 'When you are on your phone you spend a lot of time comparing yourself to people who seem to have this amazing life. 'When you are with your peers you don't do that as much. You see, everyone is really the same as you, without the filters.'
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
School's average exam results jump entire grade after phone ban
A school's average exam results improved by an entire grade after mobile phones were banned. A-Level results at Excelsior Academy in Hackney, east London, improved from a grade C average to B over a year, official statistics show. Omar Deria, the 45-year-old headmaster, credited the improvement to a new ban on students using their mobile phones in school. He said the new rules, which see phones confiscated for up to a week if pupils are caught using them in lessons, had a 'miraculous' effect. Mr Deria, who joined the school in 2022, said: 'On my first day, the first thing that I noticed was students glued to their phones scrolling. 'If I am honest, it was a struggle at first. It is the most important thing in their lives and they struggle when it is taken. They may not be happy in the moment, but on results day, they thank us. 'The impact in the classroom has been nothing short of miraculous. You are dealing with completely different people, their personalities are different. 'They are more articulate, chattier, nicer, more engaged, not just with the learning but with other people in general.' The Government has opposed measures to introduce a nationwide ban on mobile phones in schools, saying it was unnecessary because headmasters could introduce their own restrictions. The success of the measure at Excelsior Academy contradicts a University of Birmingham study, which in February found the bans do not improve children's marks or mental health. Mr Deria claimed 90 per cent of the school's behavioural issues came from 'online'. 'It gets brought into school and then that takes up a lot of our time,' he said. 'Kids have a completely different personality online. There are so many truly lovely students who go online and become unrecognisable. 'If we can ban phones, then we can reduce peer-on-peer abuse and sexual harassment. If mobile phones are not banned in your school, then they are asking for trouble.' Mr Deria's pupils expressed praise for the policy, saying it was a 'great thing'. Cilen Garip, 17, who hopes to study law at university, said: 'It really encourages us to learn. Students were always on their phones in their free time, and it distracted not only them but the people around them. 'They would show a funny video around and it would distract the whole room. Now we can use that time to revise, and I think we get a lot more done. I don't even bother bringing my phone in anymore. I don't miss it.' Hamz Hussain, 16, who wishes to study engineering at university, said: 'It has really helped me to focus and revise more. Sometimes I miss it but that makes me realise how distracting they can be. 'Since it started in September, I have found myself revising way more. It means that all our work is finished in school and we can enjoy free time more at home. I appreciate having my phone in the evening more now that it is gone in the daytime.' Another student, Falma Hashi, said: 'Since we can't have mobile phones at school, I have become a lot more open to group social activities. 'Yesterday we played some card games and just talked rather than all sitting alone on our phones, head down, not talking. When you are on your phone, you spend a lot of time comparing yourself to people who seem to have this amazing life. 'When you are with your peers, you don't do that as much. You see, everyone is really the same as you, without the filters.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
The Herald Scotland
09-05-2025
- General
- The Herald Scotland
Scottish school mobile phone ban could be life-changing for children
Adults, needless to say, behave just the same. Regardless of age, anyone with a phone has effectively shackled themselves to a device as needy as a newborn child: constantly demanding attention, eroding your concentration, destroying your social life and disturbing your sleep. Read more about phone ban It's bad enough when you're an adult, but for children it can be life-changing, for all the wrong reasons. Not surprisingly, teachers have long been complaining about the corrosive effect of mobile phones during lessons, causing continuous interruptions, and ruining everyone's concentration. In England over 90% of schools already ban phones during class, and for some the result has been transformational. The head teacher of Excelsior Academy in Hackney has been stunned by the change he's seen in the space of a year. With the average grade at A level going from a C to a B, and pupils 'chattier, nicer, more engaged,' he describes the impact as 'a game changer'. Only recently, however, has the Scottish education system embraced this idea. Scottish Government guidance, published last year, allowed headteachers to decide how to regulate phone use. I'd have thought a mandatory ban would have been more effective, but things seem to be moving in that direction as it is. Moray Council has now instituted a zero phone policy in primary schools (unless required for health reasons), whilst in secondaries they must be switched off and kept out of sight for the duration of the school day. Going further, two Edinburgh schools are running a pilot scheme aimed at creating phone-free classrooms. Portobello High School - to be followed next week by Queensferry High School – has begun a system in which students lock their phones into magnetic pouches when they arrive. Only at the end of the day can the pouches be unlocked, by a wall-mounted device similar to the contraptions in supermarkets that remove the tags from booze. Why not simply rely on pupils keeping their phones on silent in their bags? Well, would you trust yourself not to glance at your phone for hours at a time? As the head teacher at Portobello High says, a 'physical barrier' was needed between students and their phones, to remove any temptation. I can't imagine what it's like being a teacher, let alone a student, in a room where phones are a perpetual source of disturbance. Back in the middle ages, when I was in school, the only distraction was the weirdo in Latin who liked jabbing girls' legs with his geometry compass, or girls passing bitchy notes under their desks. Plus the occasional magazine drooled over by boys at the back - Suzuki and Yamaha catalogues were their favourites. How innocent it all now seems. Today, the potential for disruption by phones is epidemic, a fact many pupils tacitly acknowledge. Asked what they think of the new policy, several Portobello pupils were enthusiastic, despite admitting it would probably be difficult to adjust initially. 'Muzzling phones allows teachers and students space to focus and think clearly' (Image: free) Yet even if this pilot scheme encounters a few problems, it's safe to predict that it represents the beginning of the end of phones during teaching time in our state schools. This can only be a good thing, and the sooner it becomes universal the better. Muzzling these devices for several hours allows both teachers and students space to focus and think clearly. But the benefits will go further than improving concentration and academic outcomes, important though that is. The connection between excessive mobile phone use and poor mental health among the young is widely acknowledged. As well as the ceaseless clamour of social media, there is also the danger of coming under the influence of malign individuals and ideas, not to mention the tsunami of hardcore pornography flooding boys' screens. The consequences of such contact and material can do untold damage to self-esteem, or encourage misogyny, aggression and intolerance, all of which are hard to disengage from when young and vulnerable. By diminishing the power phones wield over youngsters, this ban will also encourage them to interact more among themselves and with others. If, as a result, they grow more socially confident and outgoing, that will be every bit as important as getting better grades. None of this is to suggest that phones are a bad thing. Teachers know we can't turn back the clock, even if we wanted to. Mobiles are now as essential to our daily existence as electricity and running water, and likely to become more so as they grow increasingly sophisticated and ubiquitous. Indeed, not having a phone these days is like being Amish, living in a prelapsarian world of horse and cart, and cut off from the way the world works. Read more by Rosemary Goring Just this week, for instance, when opening a savings account, I discovered how necessary mine was. Instead of being helped by a member of staff in the bank, I was ushered into an empty room and put on a Teams call to one of their colleagues in London. For the next half hour I had to navigate my banking app and a dodgy wifi connection while managing not to cut the banker off: child's play for a six-year-old, tricky for a luddite like me who uses, and comprehends, about 5% of my phone's capability. Thanks to the banker's patience, everything went smoothly, but how vintage and inept I felt - and I'm told there are some even more clueless than me. So while phone-free schoolrooms are a great idea, mobiles are now an integral part of our lives. With this in mind, schools must also teach students how to get the best out of them, as well as how to protect themselves from harm. For that lesson alone I'd be prepared to go back into the classroom. Rosemary Goring is a columnist and author. Her most recent book is Homecoming: The Scottish Years of Mary, Queen of Scots. Its sequel, Exile: The Captive Years of Mary, Queen of Scots, is published in July.
Telegraph
09-05-2025
- Telegraph
School's average exam results jump entire grade after phone ban
A school's average exam results improved by an entire grade after mobile phones were banned. A-Level results at Excelsior Academy in Hackney, east London, improved from a grade C average to B over a year, official statistics show. Omar Deria, the 45-year-old headmaster, credited the improvement to a new ban on students using their mobile phones in school. He said the new rules, which see phones confiscated for up to a week if pupils are caught using them in lessons, had a 'miraculous' effect. Mr Deria, who joined the school in 2022, said: 'On my first day, the first thing that I noticed was students glued to their phones scrolling. 'If I am honest, it was a struggle at first. It is the most important thing in their lives and they struggle when it is taken. They may not be happy in the moment, but on results day, they thank us. 'The impact in the classroom has been nothing short of miraculous. You are dealing with completely different people, their personalities are different. 'They are more articulate, chattier, nicer, more engaged, not just with the learning but with other people in general.' Starmer rules out ban The Government has opposed measures to introduce a nationwide ban on mobile phones in schools, saying it was unnecessary because headmasters could introduce their own restrictions. The success of the measure at Excelsior Academy contradicts a University of Birmingham study, which in February found the bans do not improve children's marks or mental health. Mr Deria claimed 90 per cent of the school's behavioural issues came from 'online'. 'It gets brought into school and then that takes up a lot of our time,' he said. 'Kids have a completely different personality online. There are so many truly lovely students who go online and become unrecognisable. 'If we can ban phones, then we can reduce peer-on-peer abuse and sexual harassment. If mobile phones are not banned in your school, then they are asking for trouble.' Mr Deria's pupils expressed praise for the policy, saying it was a 'great thing'. Cilen Garip, 17, who hopes to study law at university, said: 'It really encourages us to learn. Students were always on their phones in their free time, and it distracted not only them but the people around them. 'They would show a funny video around and it would distract the whole room. Now we can use that time to revise, and I think we get a lot more done. I don't even bother bringing my phone in anymore. I don't miss it.' 'I find myself revising more' Hamz Hussain, 16, who wishes to study engineering at university, said: 'It has really helped me to focus and revise more. Sometimes I miss it but that makes me realise how distracting they can be. 'Since it started in September, I have found myself revising way more. It means that all our work is finished in school and we can enjoy free time more at home. I appreciate having my phone in the evening more now that it is gone in the daytime.' Another student, Falma Hashi, said: 'Since we can't have mobile phones at school, I have become a lot more open to group social activities. 'Yesterday we played some card games and just talked rather than all sitting alone on our phones, head down, not talking. When you are on your phone, you spend a lot of time comparing yourself to people who seem to have this amazing life. 'When you are with your peers, you don't do that as much. You see, everyone is really the same as you, without the filters.'
