It is game over for students in one of London's top schools as they find their PS4 and Xbox confiscated from their homes. King Solomon Academy (KSA) implements a new rule to take away these units, including the kids' mobile phones, in an effort to improve their grades and behavior.
Headmaster Max Haimendorf said the rule stemmed from the students' parents themselves. On more than one instance, Haimendorf met with parents who brought their children's gaming consoles and other devices. They would ask Haimendorf to keep the gadgets until their children did better in school, as per Independent.
Haimendorf said some students confessed to staying up late even on school nights to play PS4 or Xbox games, or fiddle through the internet on their mobile phones. "There definitely have been circumstances where [they] have been clearly exhausted in classrooms," the headmaster said. Thus, implementing the new rule was a necessary measure so the children's school performance would no longer suffer.
KSA is considered a model school for the way it handles its student issues. It is located in one of London's poorest boroughs, which means it's filled with kids from struggling backgrounds and families who face challenges in learning.
Despite the challenges, the Department of Education awarded KSA as 2015's best non-selective school, as per News Corp. Australia. Around 93 percent of its students delivered above average scores in a previous GCSE, a rigorous standardized test in the U.K. education system.
KSA has strict standards when it comes to academics. Students are expected to be in classes from 7:55 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and follow the 30-minute mandatory reading time, as well as two hours of homework.
Ian Livingstone, the founder of miniature gaming empire Games Workshop, expressed disappointment for the school's policy. He supported the idea that students can also learn from playing video games and that learning must be a fun experience.
