Headteacher's four-word response after critics blast 12 hour school day

By Mieka Smiles, News Reporter

Andrew O’Neill is in charge of All Saints Catholic College in Notting Hill (Image: ITV/ Good Morning Britain)

A headteacher has given a fierce defence of his new 12 hour day that comes into effect today at his school.

Instead of heading home after classes today pupils at All Saints Catholic College in the posh neighbourhood of Notting Hill, west London, will stay behind and take part in sports, art and cookery.

And it’s all in a bid to break a terrifying smartphone addiction according to concerned head Andrew O'Neill.

His decision to introduce extra long days comes after Mr O'Neill, 43, found “shocking” things on mobile phones taken from pupils - such as pupils blackmailing strangers and catfishing one another. 

Speaking on Good Morning Britain he said: “It's pretty clear across the sector this is a real issue in terms of the vacuum that phones fill for children when they go home.

Students will start their days at 7am and go home at 7pm (Image: Google)

“There's a crisis in attendance and if we look at the last 10 years or so there's a depletion in services that are available to children after school.”

But with the new scheme in place, the head said in a blunt four word assessment that the pupils will go home with a “bucket full of endorphins” rather than tapping away on their devices in their bedrooms.

The head is also worried about children’s increasingly poor social skills and their ability to relate to others in the real world.

He said pupils were growing worse at making eye contact and holding conversations, reports The Times.

Instead, Mr O'Neill hopes children can experience a childhood like his in Barton, near Darlington, Durham, where children played outside and enjoyed the fresh air.

Mr O’Neill said: “We have a long-term issue we need to solve. If we don’t we will have a generational problem with workplaces and society. 

“Some children are so apathetic. They don’t care about anything. They are buried in their phones.”

He added that parents who don’t keep their children safe online should be reported to social services or prosecuted.

All Saints is an “outstanding” school according to Ofsted and banned its 900 pupils, aged between 11 and 16, from carrying phones in 2016 but allows the devices to be kept in bags or lockers. 

Mr O'Neill was crowned 'Headteacher of the Year' in the 2022 Pearson National Teaching Awards.