‘Going back in time’: the schools across Europe banning mobile phones

A poster in Nijmegen reminds students to leave their phones at home or in their lockers. A national ban on the use of mobile phones in the classroom was introduced in January. Photograph: Hollandse Hoogte/Rex/Shutterstock

Six years ago, as officials at the Netherlands’ Calvijn College began considering whether to ban phones from their schools, the idea left some students aghast.

“We were asked whether we thought we were living in the 1800s,” said Jan Bakker, the chair of the college, whose students range in age from 12 to 18 years.