Sussex school goes fully phone free

Robertsbridge Community College in East Sussex has officially gone fully phone-free using physical storage pouches to remove temptation during the school day.

The new system came into force on Monday, July 6, 2026, requiring all students to check their mobile devices into individual pouches every morning. 

This roll-out is part of a broader, rapidly accelerating movement across Sussex to completely eliminate smartphones from the school day. 

The Robertsbridge Roll-Out

• The Mechanism: Students were issued physical storage pouches. 
• The Routine: Phones are locked away at the start of the morning and remain inaccessible through lessons and breaks. 
• The Goal: The policy aims to improve face-to-face interaction, minimize classroom distractions, and eliminate the constant pressure of digital notifications. 
• Initial Results: School leadership reported full cooperation from students on day one, noting an immediate shift toward active social connection. 

The Broader Sussex Phone-Free Movement

Robertsbridge is not an isolated case; it joins a massive wave of recent phone-free policies implemented across the region: 

• Brighton and Hove Secondary Co-ordination: All 10 secondary schools in Brighton and Hove agreed to a coordinated strategy to go smartphone-free for arriving Year 7 pupils starting September 2026.
• Primary School Bans: The Hove Learning Federation implemented a complete smartphone and smartwatch ban across its junior and infant schools.
• Steyning Grammar School: Implemented a strict "blue line" threshold policy where devices are strictly banned once students enter school boundaries.
• Downlands Community School: Located in Hassocks, the school rolled out its own smartphone-free restrictions to safeguard student mental health.
• Political Backing: Both West Sussex and Brighton & Hove councils have heavily backed grassroots movements like the Smartphone Free Childhood campaign, actively lobbying the UK government to make these restrictions legally binding nationwide