The new Disney villain in the upcoming Toy Story movie isn’t a person at all but the iPad and we couldn’t agree more. At Cothill, we are unapologetically a mobile-free school for the simple reason that childhood should be protected and allowed to breathe.

Our children still enjoy the simple, human ways of keeping in touch. Boarders use landline phones to call home, and our school secretary ensures communication flows easily. Staff carry phones on fixtures and school trips for safety and coordination, our marketing team has a phone for photos, but otherwise… we find we’re busy enough that no one misses them.

What this creates is something increasingly rare: space.
Space for imagination, invention, exploration, friendship, and boredom but the kind of boredom that leads to creativity.

Space for childhood to breathe.

Our children get to be children in the traditional sense, not the digitally accelerated version modern life often dictates.

A smartphone can wait. Childhood cannot.

George May