Many schools around the world now ban smartphones. Does this help students? In Britain, one study found that test scores went up after schools banned phones. Students with lower grades were helped the most.

But in Sweden, a ban did not change grades. In 2025, a study in England compared about 1,200 students. Their mental health was the same at schools with and without bans. So a phone ban is not a magic answer.

Phone restrictions are spreading in schools around the world, but do they work? In 2016, two economists studied schools in four British cities that banned phones at different times. After the bans, national exam results improved by about 6 percent of a standard deviation. The biggest gains were among low-achieving students, while top students hardly changed.

However, a 2020 study in Sweden found no clear link between phone bans and grades. Then in 2025, researchers compared about 1,200 students aged 12 to 15 in 30 English secondary schools. Students at schools with bans used their phones less during school, but their total phone use and mental wellbeing were no different. The problem may be how phones are used after school and at night.

In 2016, a study of schools in four British cities took advantage of a useful detail. The schools had banned mobile phones at different times, so researchers could compare results before and after each ban. Exam performance rose by around 6 percent of a standard deviation. Nearly all of the gain came from low-achieving students, and high achievers barely changed.

Since then, as worry about teenagers' screen time has grown, many countries have restricted phones in schools. The evidence has not kept pace. A Swedish study published in 2020 found no clear effect, which may reflect how strictly bans were enforced or differences between countries. A 2024 rapid review reported a small positive effect overall, mostly on social relationships such as bullying, but it drew on only five studies.

Mental health is the other big question. A 2025 study of about 1,200 pupils aged 12 to 15 in 30 English schools found that students at restrictive schools used phones and social media less during the school day but not overall, and mental wellbeing was no different. What did matter was time. Students who spent more hours on phones and social media had worse outcomes, whatever their school's policy.