Rector’s eNews 34: 28 October 2026

As October draws to a close, the end of the year is firmly in sight. The matrics are well into their exams, and the rest of the school will soon follow. At congregational singing practice, the boys were practising Christmas carols – an outrage in October, but a sure sign of what lies ahead.

As exams replace normal teaching routines, staff use the time to plan for next year and beyond. With several decisions under consideration, I wanted to share how we approach them.

My principle, wherever possible, is to communicate our thinking early and make the final decision late. I adopted this approach during Covid, when circumstances and information changed constantly. It has stayed with me: sharing our thinking helps you understand the options, the factors we are weighing and the values guiding us. Taking time before deciding allows us to examine the implications and consider new information. The intention is that, when a decision is announced, you understand how we reached it. I want our decisions to be predictable because the principles behind them are clear.

Two current examples are our review of the Devices (Cell Phone and Laptop) Policy and our planning of term dates for 2028.

Ms Karin Moffat, our Deputy Rector: Pupils, is leading the Devices Policy review. She writes:

I am writing to let you know that the Pastoral Office is revising Michaelhouse’s Device Policy, and to explain the thinking behind it.

 Restricting phone use in schools has, over the last few years, moved from a school-by-school choice to national law in many countries — more than 100 countries and 29 U.S. states now restrict phones in classrooms in some form, and countries such as France, China and Australia have gone further still. Michaelhouse’s own policy has, in most respects, been ahead of this trend rather than behind it: our age-graduated approach, our removal of phones overnight, and our ban on SIM-enabled smart watches and other devices all mirror or exceed what leading schools and legislators elsewhere are only now putting in place.

 We do want to be candid with you about the evidence. The most rigorous independent research on school phone bans — a study of over 1,200 pupils across 30 English schools, published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe — found that banning phones only during the school day does not measurably improve pupils’ wellbeing or results, because pupils simply make up the screen time before and after school. This finding is genuinely important, but it describes day schools, which cannot govern a pupil’s evenings. As a boarding school, Michaelhouse already governs significantly more of a boy’s day — including the evening and overnight hours where a day school has no reach at all — which is precisely why our approach is different, and why we believe it remains the right one.

With that in mind, the revised policy keeps everything that already works well and adjusts certain levels of access to remain in line with our philosophy and trends that we have noted here at school.

 The full policy will be sent out in due course.

 For the 2028 calendar, we are reviewing the structure of Half Terms. The decision to remove the Quarter 4 Half Term was made some time ago, and I support it: in a short term dominated by exams, a break would be unnecessarily disruptive. In longer terms, however, Half Terms offer an important chance to rest and recuperate. The traditional Wednesday evening to Monday evening break can be compromised by travel, sports tours and events. For families living further away, it can also be difficult and expensive.

I have asked our team to explore whether a different arrangement in Quarter 2 – often felt to be particularly intense – would make the break more worthwhile. We are considering starting Half Term after Saturday fixtures and returning the following Sunday night. This would provide a full week’s break, with two teaching days to be made up elsewhere in the calendar.

In principle, I like the idea. It offers a proper rest and makes the journey more worthwhile for families living far away. We are still working through the implications, particularly for parents with children at other schools that retain the current Half Term arrangements.

Under this proposal, Quarters 1 and 3 would remain unchanged, and Quarter 4 would continue without a Half Term. We hope to confirm the 2028 arrangements in the next week or two.

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