Pymble introduces wiser phone choice for tweens and teens

Pymble Ladies’ College has launched the Pymble Wise Phone initiative to provide students in Years 4 to 8 (2025) with an age-appropriate alternative to smartphones, which research associates with negative impact on our young people.

Parents in these year groups can choose for their daughters to receive a ‘Wise Phone’, which does not have access to the internet or social media apps until students reach Year 10 or 16 years of age. While parents are responsible for their daughter’s SIM card and phone plan, Wise Phones will be managed by the College, in consultation with students, to support safe and practical applications and features based on each student’s age and year group.

Parents who do not wish their daughter to have a phone at all can opt out or choose to activate a Wise Phone for their daughter later, when the time is right for their family.

Principal of Pymble Ladies’ College, Dr Kate Hadwen said: “We understand that mobile phones play an important role in keeping families connected with their children. However, the negative impact of social media and smartphone addiction on young people is well supported by research.

“As a leading independent girls’ school, we are in a unique position to work with our families and address this issue by providing a solution that promotes responsible and appropriate use of technology and allows our students to learn, play and develop positive relationships in real life and online.”

Parent and student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with 100 per cent take-up by our ear 6 and 7 families.

Year 6 Pymble student, Gabriella Hanna, is excited to step into the brave new world of Year 7 knowing everyone in the cohort will be on the same level of technology.

“At the moment there’s a big disconnect between people who have phones and those who don’t. The Wise Phone is a great option because it will allow us to contact our friends and families when we need to. It will also allow the school to add our My Pymble app and any other things we actually need for Year 7,” said Gabriella.

Gabriella’s mother, Luisa Hanna, said the collective power of families and College staff working together to delay smartphone access for students is a huge relief for parents.

“I felt like we had no options: our daughter is beginning Year 7 next year and, if we wanted her to feel included, we would have had to give in and get her a smartphone and be stuck to deal with the repercussions of that decision.

“This has been a godsend; the answer to our prayers. It allows us to give our daughter a phone that is age appropriate and allows her to test the waters of responsibility for having a phone without all the apps and worrying extras like social media, which are hard to navigate at her age.”

For more information, visit our Pymble Wise Phone website.