Best mobile phone for Yr7 independent school

[ConfuzdMum]

A genuine question- what is the best way to choose the most suitable mobile phone for a Yr7 girl starting secondary next year? She’s not on social media, but will be commuting independently, so will need Citymapper, etc. ; I’m an Apple user and want to be able to track/ have control over options, and I’m torn between an older Apple phone or a cheaper brand ? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Get a refurbished older phone. Assume it will get lost/smashed approx every 18 months.

Apple

If you've got apple then get apple. Easier to navigate the phone check DC isn't doing anything they shouldn't etc

We have iPhones so also got our children iPhones when they were going to secondary. We bought them a case and screen protector and they’ve never broken them.

Why does the sector matter?

Ah, if she had been going to state school I would have said apple as it fits your systems, but since it’s private school it will really need to be android.

😂😂

A smartphone is a slippery slope. Get her a Nokia dumb phone. You don’t need to track her. She won’t be the only one.

Good question. Coming from state education abroad (many moons ago) I am genuinely curious whether there is an expectation to have a certain mobile model/ brand in local indies.but we want it to be a practical choice at the same time. This is a tricky age and don’t want my DC to feel like an odd one out, and also have access to all the necessary tools.

Yes OP. There is a secret smartphone company that only do phones for privately educated children,

Private isn’t better and neither are the phones. 🤦🏻‍♀️

This was a practical question. That’s all. No need for sarcasm.

Get her the most basic phone that you can. You don’t need to track her. She just needs to be able to send / receive texts and calls.

Thank you!

Not a stupid question - Oundle don’t allow smart phones until 5th form for example.

Thank you everyone for your helpful suggestions, I really appreciate your input. I apologise if the word “ independent” was unnecessary and if it came across as offensive(? 🤷🏼‍♀️) I genuinely wanted advice about something practical. Thank you everyone who helped us decide.

No there was a need. I stand by what I said given your question.

My DGD has a Samsung. Her mum has an iPhone and uses an Apple AirTag which DGD carries in her bag or pocket, which does not connect to DGDs Samsung but does allow my daughter to locate her through Bluetooth, so often my daughter says ‘well I can see she’s at the bus stop/train station’.

DGD not having an iPhone has been such a success. She is not on any social media and has contact with her friends through chat groups. She is not on her phone all of the time and in her friendship group she is not the only one with a Samsung rather than a iPhone.

She is in year 9 now, at independent school also! Irrelevant I know, but sometimes it’s ok to be irrelevant!

Lovely, thank you for such a detailed and helpful response! 😊exactly this- staying in touch with friends and family, being safe- without too much exposure:)

My DCs went from state to indi (im sure this is irrelevant too but hope helps) in y9 both have iPhones, - I can track them and they have to ask permission to download apps….they don’t have Snapchat, insta, TikTok etc. and never have. School is android but no probs as school work is completed on laptop. Also restricted use of phone at school etc.

First I would check the school policy - some schools are starting to prohibit bringing smart phones to school.

We remain in the dumb phone plus AirTag camp for going to school. Even with a commute across a city. Phone for emergency, AirTag for location tracking.

Eldest Dc does have a very old handed down iPhone at home but has no SIM card so if WiFi only for occasional use of messaging friends on WhatsApp. But no other social media, you really want to avoid for as long as you can.

My top tip - buy a load of AirTags and physically attach one to school bag, one to gym kit bag, one in instrument case (if relevant), one on Keyring, etc. They are a one off cost and hugely helpful to know where things are when child looks at you blankly when you ask where their gym kit is and you can say “well isn’t that where the PE block is?”

Thank you! 🙏

Great Tip, thank you! 🤩

From what I’ve heard from my DC at an independent secondary, there’s no pressure to have an iPhone over an Android (though having the latest iPhone was a thing for a few in Y7).

We went for secondhand iPhone with strong parental controls, so they had maps, Citymapper, music/podcasts (podcasts while commuting turned out to be good for revision) but no social media. Then gradually unlocked functions (camera, web browser, WhatsApp) as we felt they were needed and able to use safely.

My kids always had IPhones. I have one it made sense. Got insurance fur my son as he’s bd er made it through a contract with the same phone yet. My DD has never broken/lost hers.
Not sure why going to an independent school is relevant.

Refurbished iPhones from backmarket. We got an iPhone 12 mini for dd2 as her hands are small and she struggled with my old iPhone 11. I was impressed with the speed and it’s immaculate. I actually think I’ll do the same next time rather than buy brand new for me.

We also have a paid for monthly nationwide current account that includes insurance on all household phones.