Eton Tightens School iPad Rules to Limit Browsing and Nighttime Use
The October changes are intended to curb pupil screen time by restricting iPads to a school network, routing web access through a secure browser with a teacher-approved whitelist, moving hand-in times earlier.
Overview
- Eton will from October confine first-year iPads to the Eton-Learning network, allow only a small set of Microsoft 365 apps at first, and then permit web browsing solely through a specially developed secure browser that opens a school-approved whitelist.
- More than 100 parents sent a joint letter in December 2024 complaining about gaming, unsupervised browsing and signs of screen addiction, and deputy head Mike Grenier outlined the tightened controls to parents in July as part of the school’s response.
- Under the new schedule pupils must hand in iPads by 21:00 on Saturdays and other evenings, may not keep devices overnight, and can collect them from 07:00 the next morning.
- Prince George, who began at Eton on 8 September, is among the F Block pupils covered by the rules and the measures mirror public calls from the Prince and Princess of Wales to limit their children’s screen time.
- Eton says the policy follows years of consultation, expert advice and inspection guidance and reflects wider pressure on schools to manage device use after the college began issuing iPads in 2019 and banned smartphones in 2024 in favour of simple Nokia phones.