Academic private London secondaries with the lowest screen time

[OpenaBook123]

I’m following High Grant and Sophie Winkleman’s campaign to have tech removed from classrooms, and I’m wondering which of the academic private London secondaries has best resisted the incursion of screens into classrooms.

I have skin in the game as I have a DS who is sitting 11+/13+ this year, and I’d ideally like to send him to a school which aligns with my beliefs that pervasive tech in schools is detrimental in the long run to their critical thinking, focus and attention.

Particularly interested in any personal experience of how much tech there is in the schools below:

Westminster
St Paul’s
City of London school for Boys
Habs
Highgate
UCS
Merchant Taylor’s

and any others people would like to discuss.

Not sure I can help but a couple of Hugh Grant’s children are at DCs school so wondering what he thinks about its tech levels! (not on your list!).

@channellingalexis Yes I’d be very curious to find out!
I think Highgate have a pretty robust no phones in school policy (at least for years 7 and 8) but it’s very hard to work out what all these schools’ attitudes are towards tech in classrooms. I’m going to try and ask on tours etc but answers can be rather vague and policy- jargon ish. I’d love to know how things translate in practice.

I think it’s more about how screen time is used….we’re in an era where the need to understand the benefits (and downfalls), of improved technology and AI is really important. To be able to utilise these to work efficiently and effectively otherwise they’ll get sucked out if they’re just reading and working on paper all the time.
Maybe it’s worth thinking about how it’s used? Schools are spending a lot of time thinking about how screens can enhance learning (and how they shouldn’t be used) - I think it’s a big skill when used well?

it’s worth noting Ofqual are introducing GCSEs and A levels on screen by 2030 in several subjects. Laptops are part of KS4 learning going forward and AI is helpful with teaching and marking at this time of a teacher recruitment crisis in many subjects (for example physics and IT/computer science) plus increasing school costs with reducing income in both state and private sectors. No wonder schools are vague when pushed for an answer.

@Aroundandabout @hockeyfun Thanks for your thoughts. Of course I’m very aware there will be varying opinions and preferences when it comes to tech in schools, and I of course am aware that children need to learn IT (as we have done from the 90s till now.) What I’m seeing recently though is a pushback from both academics and parents against the increasing migration of the majority of the educational experience onto tablets and other screens, and the move towards a more fragmented, bite-sized, gamified learning style.

I think it’s most important to teach children to read and to think critically and deeply, and in order to do that they have to be exposed to proper long-form, of the kind that is found in books.

And in my mind, the advent of AI is a game changer, particularly in higher education.

Without a way of being able to definitively verify what students actually know, not just what they’ve asked an AI app to spit out for them, there will need to be a shift back to lower tech forms of examination. Almost certainly pen and paper and viva-style examination formats. So for me, a school that prioritises those skills, over the intentionally easy-to-grasp skills pushed by the tech corporations, is going to have the edge.

But as with all these things YMMV. This is a very personal decision (what kind of education I’d prefer my children to have), and definitely not a view that has to be shared by all. There are many, many schools that have fully committed to doing everything on iPads and for those who value that, there are many options to choose from.