Pupils no longer allowed to use their mobile phones in school are chatting to each other more and are better able to concentrate but not all are happy, a survey by the Radboud University in Nijmegen has shown.

There is no legal requirement prohibiting phones but many schools issued a ban at the beginning of the year, following a ministry of education recommendation.

The research team gauged the opinions of some 1,000 parents, pupils and teachers at two schools in Nijmegen both before and three months into the ban.  They found that pupils experienced less bullying and talked to each other more often.

Teachers also reported that pupils were more attentive and focused on their work in class.

Whether or not school performance improved as well is yet to be determined, researcher Loes Pouwels told broadcaster NOS. Similar, but longer-term research carried out in Norway did not show a clear positive effect, she said.

Both parents and teachers were more in favour of a ban than they had been, but pupils rated the measure with an average score of 4.8 out of 10, compared to 6.8 before the ban.

The differences between individual pupils were significant, the results showed, with 40% saying they enjoyed their breaks more without a phone and 37% saying they missed their phones. “I am forced to socialise when I’m not in the mood which is often,” one respondent said.

Online bullying had gone done, Pouwels found, as well as taking sneaky photographs and sharing them with others. However, more personal contact had resulted in more “offline bullying” or physical bullying which schools should be aware of, she said.

Pupils also said they missed the practical advantages of having a phone, such as consulting school schedules and the Magister performance tool.

They also said they were harder to contact, including by their parents, which can be a problem for pupils who have mental issues and rely on their parents’ support. Pouwels said schools should take these pupils’ needs into account when considering a ban.