Camps Bay High School has reported that its smartphone ban, which took effect from the beginning of the 2026 academic year, has become international news after a French television crew visited the campus this week.
In a post shared on its official Facebook page, the school said the crew spent the morning filming how its “first-to-last bell” cellphone timeout works in practice.
“Our First to Last Bell cell phone timeout is officially international news,” the post read.
“A French TV crew visited us this morning to see how our cellphone free campus policy works in real life.”
“Camps Bay High is kind of a case study now.”
The visit by international news crews follows the recent installation of cellphone lockers at Camps Bay High – a visible sign of its move to limit learner access to smartphones during the school day.
From January 2026, pupils are required to leave their phones at home or lock them away in these dedicated cellphone lockers upon arrival.
Devices are only allowed to be retrieved once the final school bell rings.
Camps Bay High School principal Louis Mostert previously said that the shift was driven by long-standing concerns about learner concentration, classroom disruption and social interaction.
Teachers had been calling for a phone-free environment for some time, he explained, emphasising that the school’s primary role is education.
The school has addressed some of the concerns around emergencies, with the principal telling parents and guardians that they can simply contact their kids 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 last month, Camps Bay High described the smartphone 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.”
An international movement
The institution noted that schools in other countries have reported calmer classrooms within weeks of removing smartphones from the school environment.
Australia recently banned young teenagers from social media, launching a world-first crackdown designed to unglue children from addictive scrolling while pushing back against tech giants like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
