Skip to main content

Talk about a downgrade — iconic British private school that has educated world leaders and royalty is forcing pupils to use ancient Nokia phones

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support

Eton College, one of the most prestigious private boarding schools in the world, has implemented a new policy requiring incoming students to use basic Nokia devices instead of smartphones. Known for educating world leaders and royalty, Eton's alumni, known as Old Etonians, include Princes William and Harry, novelist George Orwell, actors Eddie Redmayne and Tom Hiddleston, and recent prime ministers Boris Johnson and David Cameron. 

In response to UK government guidance, new students starting in September 2024 will be required to leave their smartphones at home and have their SIM cards transferred to offline Nokia phones provided by the school. These basic phones can only make calls and send simple text messages, a stark contrast to the multifunctional smartphones most students are accustomed to.

This decision highlights a significant shift in the school's approach to technology. Previously, Eton's policy required first-year students to hand over their smartphones overnight. The new rules are part of an ongoing effort to balance the benefits and challenges that technology brings to the educational environment.

More focused, less distracted

As well as the 'brick' phone for use outside school hours, students joining in Year 9, the equivalent of freshman year in high school in the US, will receive a school-issued iPad to support their academic work.

The UK government's communications regulator, Ofcom, reports that 97% of children have their own cellphone by age 12, underscoring the ubiquity of mobile devices among young people. By enforcing this new policy, Eton aims to create a more focused and less distracted learning environment, aligning with broader educational trends to limit technology's impact during school hours.

While this move may seem like a downgrade to many students accustomed to modern smartphones, Eton believes it is a necessary step, although the college adds that it will continue to evaluate and adjust its policies to provide the best possible educational experience for its students.

More from TechRadar Pro



via Hosting & Support
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Web Hosting
Remote IT Support
Sites & Socials

Popular posts from this blog

Microsoft, Google, and Meta have borrowed EV tech for the next big thing in data centers: 1MW watercooled racks

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support Liquid cooling isn't optional anymore, it's the only way to survive AI's thermal onslaught The jump to 400VDC borrows heavily from electric vehicle supply chains and design logic Google’s TPU supercomputers now run at gigawatt scale with 99.999% uptime As demand for artificial intelligence workloads intensifies, the physical infrastructure of data centers is undergoing rapid and radical transformation. The likes of Google, Microsoft, and Meta are now drawing on technologies initially developed for electric vehicles (EVs), particularly 400VDC systems, to address the dual challenges of high-density power delivery and thermal management. The emerging vision is of data center racks capable of delivering up to 1 megawatt of power, paired with liquid cooling systems engineered to manage the resulting heat. Borrowing EV technology for data center evolution The shift to 400VDC power distribution marks a decisive break from legacy sy...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Apple Watch ban is lifted, on appeal – but the reprieve might only be temporary

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support The Apple Watch ban story has developed quickly over the last week and a bit, and there's now a new twist: the US Court of Appeals is putting a pause on the US sales and import ban while it reviews the case, which means the Apple Watch 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 can go back on sale for the time being. "We are thrilled to return the full Apple Watch lineup to customers in time for the new year," an Apple spokesperson told TechRadar. "We are pleased the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has stayed the exclusion order while it considers our request to stay the order pending our full appeal." The watches in question are now once again available from "select" Apple Stores, and will also be going on sale from the Apple website from 12pm PT / 3pm ET on Thursday, December 28 (that's 8pm in the UK, and early on December 29 in Australia). All Apple Stores should have stock by the weekend. As for how long t...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Samsung Galaxy Ring could go into production as soon as next month

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support With the dust beginning to settle from the huge Samsung Unpacked 2023 event, we can turn our attention towards what Samsung might have planned next: and a smart ring seems to be in the company's near future. As per a report from South Korean outlet The Elec (via SamMobile ), mass production on a Samsung Galaxy Ring could begin as early as August, with a decision imminent on the schedule for getting the wearable manufactured and out to consumers. A full launch is slated for some point during 2024 though, rather than 2023. The nature of the device means that it'll need to clear several regulatory hurdles before it can go on sale and start tracking various vital statistics. An early 2024 launch would put the Galaxy Ring on a similar schedule to the Samsung Galaxy S24 – and it would therefore make sense to launch both gadgets at the same time, perhaps in January or February if Samsung follows its 2023 routine. The story so far Rumors ar...
Post a Comment
Read more