EDUCATION Secretary Gavin Williamson wants to make the school day mobile phone-free, as part of proposals for “calm classrooms”.

Surely it’s a no-brainer - mobiles should be banned from classrooms. Pupils should hand their phones in before lessons and pick them up again when they leave for home. Phones are a huge distraction, and a tool for bullying, and have no place in the classroom.

It’s not enough to keep phones in bags or pockets while in class - that leaves teachers having to deal with the inevitable disruption when some pupils use theirs anyway.

Kids don’t need phones on them 24/7. If there’s an emergency, parents can contact the school. Believe it or not, schoolchildren survived for a long time before mobile phones came along.