When phones are kept away, students in Singapore come out to play

SINGAPORE – Recess time at Bukit Batok Secondary School is a lively affair.

Some students are trying their hand at a game of pool in the student lounge. A few boys take turns on a pull-up bar in a corridor, while others unwind on a swing.

Some form teams on the football field and basketball court for quick games of football or basketball under the sun, while others borrow badminton racquets from the school and look for an open space big enough to play.

The scene is a far cry from earlier break times, when students were glued to their phones.

While the Ministry of Education (MOE) introduced stricter rules in January, barring students from using mobile phones throughout the school day, including during recess, several schools, such as Bukit Batok Secondary, had begun limiting phone use earlier.

At the start of the third term in 2025, the school encouraged students to voluntarily surrender their phones during recess to student leaders, earning a stamp each time, which could be accumulated for exclusive access to the school’s activity centre.

Called Hillside, it serves as a student lounge and is equipped with games and facilities, such as a pool table, a foosball table and a range of board games.

The move came after student surveys by the school and MOE showed an increase in phone usage, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, prompting the school to try to effect a change.

Mr Nikhil Chatterji, the school’s subject head for student well-being, said: “The uptake was better than expected, though still on the low side. But we wanted to see how much of this could be a ground-up initiative from the students.”

In the fourth term, the school took another step by banning phone use throughout the school day.

Students were also required to keep their phones away in lockers outside classrooms, instead of just placing them in their bags.

“There is research suggesting that how close they are to their phones, even when switched off, would affect their cognitive ability to process information... So we decided to use the lockers, where the phones would also be kept safe,” Mr Chatterji said.

The school also set up physical spaces and provided resources such as sports equipment to give students alternative ways to spend their time.

Mrs Shirley Lee, the school’s principal, said: “You can’t just tell them the rules and stop there... If you take something away, you must give something even more attractive.”

This has resulted in a happier, livelier school environment, she added.

Mr Prabaakaran Janarthanan, the department head for physical education and co-curricular activities, said students can borrow sports equipment to use during recess, lunch and after school.

Since the start of 2026, he has observed more students engaged in physical activity throughout the school – at its sheltered basketball court, indoor sports hall and school field – during break periods.

“Students are asking for more... What used to be just two footballs or three basketballs, is now about five basketballs, three footballs, two volleyballs, and a couple of badminton rackets on any given day,” he said.

Jayden Chan, 15, a Secondary 3 student, said the phone-free policy has allowed him to have more face-to-face conversations with his peers, helping him connect with them on a deeper level.

“I don’t just hear my friends ranting on their (social media) stories... I hear their actual voices, talking to me and telling me how their day was,” he said.

The anticipation of scrolling through social media was all that Myrtle Delicia, 15, used to think about as recess approached.

While adjusting to the phone ban was not easy at first, the Sec 3 student said she now “doomscrolls” less, and her attention span has improved.

Recalling a common sight before the phone ban was put in place, she said: “Everyone was honestly isolated. Just phone, phone, phone.

“But now, you can see everyone actually engaging with one another.”

For Cesar Algallar, 17, a Sec 4 student, being without his phone initially felt unnatural.

“While queueing for food, I always reached into my left pocket for my phone. But now, I find it’s only my keys there,” he said.

Instead of spending recess checking his social media accounts, he now talks to friends over meals or in the classroom, or plays football.

The only drawback to the phone ban, Cesar said, is being unable to capture fond memories of fun moments that unfold during breaks.

“But I think it’s a sacrifice that’s necessary. If it’s a really good memory, I don’t think you’ll forget about it,” he said.

Boys return to the field

St Patrick’s School also enforced stricter phone rules ahead of the national roll-out in 2026.

Using a phased approach, the school announced at the end of 2023 that phones would be banned throughout the school day the following year.

Ms Faith Wong, the school’s assistant year head, said: “When we announced the policy, it was not very well received... They were quite upset, and there were moans and groans in the hall.”

Through assembly talks and character and citizenship education lessons in the first half of 2024, the school explained the rationale behind the impending phone ban and suggested alternative activities students could engage in without devices.

By the second half of 2024, students were required to keep their phones in lockers located in a supervised common area away from the classrooms.

Recess periods then began to come alive.

“We see them talking a lot of the time now and playing. Some of them have actually started interest groups,” Ms Wong said.

When students use recess time as an outlet to expend energy, they return to classes more focused, she added.

Previously, many students stayed in the classrooms and used their phones instead of going to the canteen for recess, but that is no longer the case. More are also making good use of the school’s football field.

“They get themselves into groups and take the initiative to organise a competition. Then they’ll tell me who won; who’s the top guy of the cohort,” Ms Wong said.

Students have also become more creative without their devices, she added.

“We have a couple of boys who bring matcha powder and then get hot water from the canteen. They manage to make a cup of matcha for an afternoon delight,” she said.

It is a heart-warming sight to see students interact more with each other, said Mr Barnabas Tan, the school’s vice-principal.

“I think these are the times when they build memories and see school as the next best place to home.”