Students at an elite UK college are being banned from using smartphones. Students are being told to use older model Nokia phones instead of smartphones. Eton College is one of the most influential and elite educational institutions in the United Kingdom. According to media reports, smartphones are being banned on Eton College premises.

Famous English writer George Orwell and several Prime Ministers of United Kingdom are alumni of this college. The college, known as a boys' boarding school founded in 1440, is banning the use of smartphones due to mental health and behavioral concerns. Instead of smartphones, students will get the opportunity to use Nokia handsets. It can be used on handsets which do not have internet connection. Students can only make calls and send short messages with these phones.

However, it is not known which model of Nokia has been specified. Nokia has recently relaunched the 3310, 3210 and 6310 models in the 1990s and 2000s. Although these phones now feature smartphone features. If these phones are used then the normal internet connection of the phone will be stopped. Vice Principal of Schools Mike Grenier alerted parents to the new change. The college will provide special Nokia handsets to the students. Eton College is providing students with iPads for educational news, despite banning smartphones.

College authorities are doing this keeping in mind the various challenges and concerns of smartphone use. "Socialization, misuse or overuse, smartphones affect both mental and physical health," said Mike Grenier.

Apart from Eton College, many schools in the UK have introduced specific guidelines on smartphone use. All Saints Catholic College in Notting Hill, London and Allen's School in Dulwich have banned smartphones. As in the United Kingdom, there is a debate about the use of smartphones in schools in various states of the United States. Several US schools have outright banned such devices. Los Angeles recently passed a law banning cellphones from classrooms.