Camps Bay High School in Cape Town is preparing to go smartphone-free from the start of the 2026 academic year.
The recent installation of cellphone lockers at the school has marked the first step in a major shift to limit learner access to smartphones during the school day.
From January 2026, learners will be required to either leave their phones at home or lock them away safely on arrival at school. Devices will only be accessible once the final bell has rung.
Improving focus and social interaction
Camps Bay High principal Louis Mostert said the decision follows long-standing concerns among staff about the impact of cellphone use on learning, concentration and social interaction.
“This has been coming for some time,” Mostert told EWN, noting that several teachers have been calling for a phone-free environment.
“We are an educational institution, and we’re supposed to be teaching the kids the correct way and the right things. There’s no harm in them not having access to their phone for the school day.”
The school has also addressed concerns around emergencies, with Mostert emphasising that parents need only contact learners via the school’s main switchboard.
“If there’s an emergency at home, there’s a reception, you can phone and get hold of the child.”
Smartphones and cyberbullying
In a post shared on the school’s Facebook page, Camps Bay High described the lockers as “the first step toward becoming a Phone-Free School from the first bell to the last.”
The school also cited studies that link reduced phone use to improved focus, among other benefits.
“Research is clear: when phones disappear, good things happen. Learners experience: Better focus, Less anxiety, Healthier friendships, Fewer bullying/online issues and Higher academic engagement.”
The post notes that schools in other countries have reported calmer classrooms within weeks of removing smartphones from the school environment.
Just last week, Australia banned young teenagers from social media, launching a world-first crackdown designed to unglue children from addictive scrolling and pushing back against tech titans like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
Mostert added that Camps Bay’s new cellphone policy has been approved by the school governing body and that feedback from parents has so far been largely positive.
