One Year of Yonder

One year on and YONDR (a lockable phone pouch) is just a normal part of daily life for our Lower School pupils. In September 2025 we made the decision to become a phone-free zone, ahead of the government’s move towards phone-free schools. Pupils in Fourth Form to Fifth Form (years 9 to 11) turn their phones off and lock them away in pouches from Period 1 until the end of the school day. Magnets are located across the school, and as pupils step off the Ridgeway and onto the school site, they locate their nearest magnet, open up their pouch and head off for the day.

Sixth Form pupils have an ‘invisibility rule’ around the site too – it would be terribly unfair if we didn’t impose this – but their sacred Sixth Form Centre does allow them to use their mobiles. That being said, there is always a hubbub of noise in the Sixth Form Centre, with pupils chatting away. It’s rather productive over there, with content from lessons being thrashed out and whiteboards drenched in argument and algebra. Yes, there is, of course, the odd game or two being played, but these pupils are being trusted to manage their own relationship with their phones – with some chivvying along the way – as we know that phones are now a normal part of communication, and pupils need to understand when and where to use these machines!

There may have been the odd grumble when we launched these pouches to Lower School pupils back in April 2025, but they’ve accepted the benefits – shockingly, even preferred them at times – and the way that pupils interact and communicate has changed drastically. It’s phenomenal. The impact on our community has been huge, and pupils have learnt to play games outside or unpick what happened in a lesson, rather than sitting in silence and messaging the person next to them! The power of spoken communication has resurfaced, and they’ve realised that living in the present moment is quite a good laugh after all!

A few Year 11s reflected on the impact:

“In Year 9, I’ll be real, we all went on our phones – now we actually socialise.”

“We don’t just sit in the corridor anymore. My friendships have got so much better.”

“After school, I have noticed that I don’t want to be on my phone as much.”

Device use will remain a constant topic of conversation, but with one device firmly locked away and the impact visible across the school site, we’re pretty proud of our YONDR move, and it seems the pupils are too!