Students at Napier Girls' High School taking advantage of the new lunch time activities, now that mobile phones are banned. Photo: Supplied
A Napier school is introducing a hard ban on cellphones, including at lunchtimes, in the hopes students will begin to appreciate time away from their devices.
National has indicated it wants to remove phones from classrooms, citing declining achievement rates - and some schools are beginning to pick up the idea.
A fortnight ago, Napier Girls' High School went all-in. Students must switch their phones off by 8:40am, and leave them in their bags until the final bell rings.
This includes between classes and at intervals.
Teachers donning police hats patrol the grounds at lunch time, with buckets at the ready for rule-breakers - a bid to make light of what they accept is a tough transition for some students.
Napier Girls' principal Dawn Ackroyd says it was very popular move with teachers and parents, but students are still warming up to the idea.
