Page 8 | London Oratory complete mobile phone ban even on long commutes

Goldie1990 · 2026-10-01T12:40:56+00:00

Interested to hear from any current parents - how can there not be an outcry about this? With an intentionally pan-London intake where many commutes easily exceed an hour, it's the last school that should have this policy. Yet it's one of only a tiny number I can find that doesn't even permit brick phones - and it's deliberately extended to the entire school journey, making it an offense to have so much as a Nokia on hand during a transport emergency. The head's rationale at the open evening was that there is far more danger on a smartphone these days than there is for an 11-year old crossing London by themselves. While that argument may be debatable, it breaks down completely when applied to brick phones. New guidance from DfE even recommends schools with large commuter populations to consider workarounds like handing in brick phones/keeping them switched off in their bag throughout the day. Even trackers with SOS call buttons are banned - all you're allowed is a basic tracker to see where they are (but with no means of contacting them).

Soontobe60 · 03/10/2026 20:19

Araminta1004 · 03/10/2026 19:00

Why the adhominem @Piglet89? Why not engage with the substantive argument that a child who may be vulnerable commuting through a large international City may well need a bloody brick phone, both for their own peace of mind and that of their parents.

They can go to their local school. A phone in isolation is not guaranteed to keep a child safe. A student was recently kidnapped on her way home from a revision class near to me this summer. She had her phone with her, but the kidnapper took it off her and threw it away immediately so she couldn’t use it and it couldn’t be tracked. Luckily for her she also had her iPad in the bottom of her bag which could be traced and eventually after several hours her whereabouts was located and she was rescued.

Araminta1004 · 03/10/2026 20:13

“Actually (and ** if you'd done some research instead of just shooting your mouth off) you'd find that LOS does allow some students phones for various reasons, including SEN and medical grounds.”

@Blueysmum82 - so more insults! And from a teacher.

Thank you for publicly admitting that they do allow phones and it is not a blanket rule.

Soontobe60 · 03/10/2026 20:08

FrankieCH · 02/10/2026 05:31

Yes because they search bags - as do most schools.

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Schools cannot search bags without a very limited number of reasons. So no, schools do NOT search everyone’s bags as a matter of routine.

Soontobe60 · 03/10/2026 20:06

Araminta1004 · 03/10/2026 11:39

Nobody needs to pay any tutor unless you don’t have the literacy and numeracy skills of an 11 year old.

I’d be interested to know just how many pupils of selective schools used tutors in primary school - it’s big business, many of my teacher colleagues get paid a pretty sum as tutors for our local selective school candidates.
‘Pretending it doesn't happen is just plain stupid.

Blueysmum82 · 03/10/2026 19:57

Actually (and @Araminta1004 if you'd done some research instead of just shooting your mouth off) you'd find that LOS does allow some students phones for various reasons, including SEN and medical grounds.

Bigmove25 · 03/10/2026 19:54

Goldie1990 · 02/10/2026 14:45

He didn't actually say that. :-)

They are still oversubscribed but this year saw their lowest number of first preference applications in a decade:

2016: 309
2017: 320
2018: 320
2019: 321
2020: 332
2021: 293
2022: 235
2023: 274
2024: 239
2025: 244
2026: 226

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Yes, but there aren't so many practicing Catholics anymore, now the Europeans are going home/no longer coming. I also think the Cardinal Vaughan is now more popular for those in West London, but those who don't get in will have LOS as their second choice and go there (and vice versa). I don't think they are quite at the stage of (Clutching their Rosary and) taking baptised Catholics without a CCP just yet :-)

Piglet89 · 03/10/2026 19:51

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Bigmove25 · 03/10/2026 19:39

Araminta1004 · 03/10/2026 19:00

Why the adhominem @Piglet89? Why not engage with the substantive argument that a child who may be vulnerable commuting through a large international City may well need a bloody brick phone, both for their own peace of mind and that of their parents.

I don't get the feeling you know the LOS. A school for SEN children it is not. Their response would be that if your child can't cope with the journey without a phone, then find a school closer to home. I think that applies to any school really. If you pass other schools on the way then choose one of them.
I really don't understand why people consider sending their child to an outstanding school, that clearly works well because of the particular processes and rules it implements, but then think they should be able overturn any they don't personally agree with.

Araminta1004 · 03/10/2026 19:00

Why the adhominem @Piglet89? Why not engage with the substantive argument that a child who may be vulnerable commuting through a large international City may well need a bloody brick phone, both for their own peace of mind and that of their parents.

Piglet89 · 03/10/2026 18:57

@Araminta1004never, ever wrong and always knows best. 🙄

Araminta1004 · 03/10/2026 17:57

Well it’s not proportional for a child with SEND and a long commute so of course certain parents could challenge it, on reasonable grounds.

Piglet89 · 03/10/2026 17:47

@Goldie1990I said “the Oratory is excellent: they’ll have done their assessment” - but I never intended to answer the policy question. I said that in response to the approach @Araminta1004said she’d take by writing the school a “legal letter”.

The school will have assessed its risk already and would be well prepared for any challenges. That’s what I meant by the O being excellent and having done any legal risk assessment it thought was warranted.

Original poster

Goldie1990 · 03/10/2026 17:22

Blueysmum82 · 03/10/2026 17:02

That's a very good and also very difficult question to answer. I would say this - if DS enjoys sport or music or drama (or all 3!), they will thrive. If they have any issues for whatever reason they will be supported, in some cases to exceptional levels. However, and this is just my view, it's quite easy for a child to anonymise themselves at LOS. If you don't stand out and are middle of the road and hit your expected targets then that's fine and you might not find DS is given the development opportunities you might expect. But you have to remember that, when all's said and done, LOS is a State School with state school funding. It's just not possible to give every child the time and effort they deserve. LOS can feel very regimented and rule-bound (especially the playground at lunchtime!) and pupils can be intimidated by this and try and hide even harder. But, the confident talented student will thrive at LOS. The quiet middle of the road student - maybe not so much.

That’s an incredibly useful and nuanced answer, thank you. The distinction between supporting a child who is struggling and actively developing a quieter child who is doing perfectly well is exactly the sort of thing I was trying to understand. Really helpful to hear from someone who has seen the school from the inside.

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fashionqueen0123 · 03/10/2026 17:08

Twistingoliver · 03/10/2026 12:46

@fashionqueen0123the knots people are tying themselves into to try to justify such an unreasonable policy is fascinating.

Yup. Like I said, it’s the same people who would suggest horse and cart if a car was available.

zoeslim · 03/10/2026 17:06

Goldie1990 · 02/10/2026 12:35

By the looks of things they aren't publicising this at all (no mention in their documented behaviour policies or even in the Open Evening presentation a couple of weeks ago now available on their website). Surely this is something that needs to be made clear to prospective parents before they apply. Unlike Oratory it has a small catchment of only 1 mile but has lots of aptitude test places which I imagine extend its geographical intake MUCH further.

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It is simple
you do not like the policy
So look elsewhere
FGS

zoeslim · 03/10/2026 17:04

There is no outcry because it is a good idea to get kids away from a screen and be independent

Blueysmum82 · 03/10/2026 17:02

That's a very good and also very difficult question to answer. I would say this - if DS enjoys sport or music or drama (or all 3!), they will thrive. If they have any issues for whatever reason they will be supported, in some cases to exceptional levels. However, and this is just my view, it's quite easy for a child to anonymise themselves at LOS. If you don't stand out and are middle of the road and hit your expected targets then that's fine and you might not find DS is given the development opportunities you might expect. But you have to remember that, when all's said and done, LOS is a State School with state school funding. It's just not possible to give every child the time and effort they deserve. LOS can feel very regimented and rule-bound (especially the playground at lunchtime!) and pupils can be intimidated by this and try and hide even harder. But, the confident talented student will thrive at LOS. The quiet middle of the road student - maybe not so much.

Original poster

Goldie1990 · 03/10/2026 16:39

I think there's also a strong cultural idea here that choosing a school means accepting its ethos wholesale. That's particularly understandable with a distinctive school like the Oratory. And there's some truth in it: it would be rather odd to choose LOS and then object to Catholic worship, traditional discipline or its identity as an Oratorian school.

But I'm not sure a rule about whether an 11-year-old can carry an emergency-contact device on the train home is intrinsically part of that religious or educational ethos.

I also think two rather different propositions keep getting collapsed:
1. The school is entitled to have this rule.
2. The rule is a good one.

Those aren't the same thing. I can entirely accept that LOS has considerable discretion over its behaviour policy while still questioning whether one particular element of it is proportionate.

And perhaps there's a slightly tribal element too. Once we've decided that the Oratory is an excellent school, criticism of one rule can start sounding like criticism of the institution itself. “The Oratory is excellent, they'll have done their assessment” doesn't really answer the policy question. Excellent institutions can still make questionable decisions, just as less prestigious institutions can make very good ones.

Blueysmum82's post is actually much more useful to me because she gives a substantive reason for the rule from her experience of teaching there: an absolute prohibition removes temptation and makes enforcement much easier. I can see that benefit, even if I reach a different conclusion about whether it outweighs the disadvantages for children making long journeys.

That's really the discussion I'm interested in - not whether I'm free to choose another school, which of course I am. :-)

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Original poster

Goldie1990 · 03/10/2026 16:32

Blueysmum82 · 03/10/2026 15:57

Well, I've been a teacher at The Oratory and also at other London state schools, and have to say the rule is excellent for both kids and teachers. Kids because it removes the temptation to break the rules during the day and also encourages them to talk to each other on their journey rather than being glued to their phone as every other school-kid seems to be. For teachers we know that we can get on with teaching without any possible distractions. At other schools there are different results with different policies. Even only allowing brick phones doesn't work that well as kids still text each other. In the entire time I was at the Oratory I wasn't aware of one kid getting into an issue because of not having a phone - on the other hand at other schools, plenty of stories of kids getting mugged for their phones! But at the end of the day it is, of course, your choice. If you don't think you or your DS can possibly survive without him having a phone, then don't send him there. I rather suspect if you're this worried about the phone The Oratory's not for you anyway!

That's really useful to hear from someone who has actually taught there, thank you. Leaving the phone issue aside, how did you find the school generally in terms of pastoral warmth and relationships between staff and pupils, particularly for quieter boys? Is there a focus on developing confident, articulate young men? :-) That's often cited as one of the less tangible benefits of the independent sector, and I've wondered whether the Oratory offers something similar.

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Blueysmum82 · 03/10/2026 15:57

Well, I've been a teacher at The Oratory and also at other London state schools, and have to say the rule is excellent for both kids and teachers. Kids because it removes the temptation to break the rules during the day and also encourages them to talk to each other on their journey rather than being glued to their phone as every other school-kid seems to be. For teachers we know that we can get on with teaching without any possible distractions. At other schools there are different results with different policies. Even only allowing brick phones doesn't work that well as kids still text each other. In the entire time I was at the Oratory I wasn't aware of one kid getting into an issue because of not having a phone - on the other hand at other schools, plenty of stories of kids getting mugged for their phones! But at the end of the day it is, of course, your choice. If you don't think you or your DS can possibly survive without him having a phone, then don't send him there. I rather suspect if you're this worried about the phone The Oratory's not for you anyway!

localnotail · 03/10/2026 12:50

Just let him take a cheap phone, make sure its switched off in his bag. Not many schools do bag checks and generally pretty much everyone ignores the ban.

Twistingoliver · 03/10/2026 12:46

@fashionqueen0123the knots people are tying themselves into to try to justify such an unreasonable policy is fascinating.

fashionqueen0123 · 03/10/2026 12:14

Soontobe60 · 03/10/2026 11:07

But perhaps you’d be willing to ring the parent yourself if the child tells you their number?

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Yes. If they can remember it/have it down somewhere. But it would be a lot easier if the child did it themselves and didn’t have to worry about finding an approachable adult.

KnickerlessParsons · 03/10/2026 11:51

Ponderingwindow · 03/10/2026 00:41

Before cell phones there were pay phones on every corner. All children had to do was carry a coin.

my teens phone is in the bottom
of her bag in a closed pocket and it is staying there despite there being a law banning her carrying a phone to school where I live. All she has to do is not take it out of the pocket unless there is an emergency. So far, no problems.

Do you and will you always encourage your DD to break rules?

Araminta1004 · 03/10/2026 11:39

Nobody needs to pay any tutor unless you don’t have the literacy and numeracy skills of an 11 year old.