The headteacher of a £31,000-a-year private school tipped to be attended by Prince George has urged parents to spend more quality time with their children.
Adam Pettitt, head of prestigious fee-paying Highgate School in north London, urged families to ensure their offspring have more time away from mobile phones.
His school has attracted celebrity parents including Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Dame Emma Thompson.
And it was recently toured by the Princess of Wales, prompting speculation she and husband Prince William could be considering the school for eldest child George, 11.
Highgate School, founded 460 years ago, is a co-educational day school for pupils aged between four and 18 – with annual fees for its secondary school currently charged at £31,575 plus obligatory lunch fees bringing the total to £32,640.
Mr Pettitt, who has been Highgate head since 2006, made his call for parents to make the most of screen-free ‘quality time’ for their children as he entered the debate about potential bans or limits on pupils’ mobile phone use.
A group of secondary schools across the south London borough of Southwark have recently teamed up to demand more restrictions – as they encouraged youngsters not to get such devices until Year 10, in which pupils are aged 14 and 15.
The alliance of 16 Southwark schools published a plan calling for ‘higher sanctions’ for pupils having smartphones rather than non-smartphones confiscated – that is, those with internet access.
Prince George has been tipped for a move to £31,000-a-year Highgate School after his mother the Princess of Wales visited – they are seen here at Westminster Abbey last Christmas
Adam Pettitt (pictured), headteacher of Highgate School since 2006, has urged parents to ensure they are spending plenty of screen-free ‘quality time’ with their children
Highgate School has already been operating its own ban on mobile phones, which Mr Pettitt says has ‘reintroduced conversation to form rooms’.
He has now written to a national newspaper insisting on the importance of parents diverting their children from constant screen time towards other activities.
He told the Times: ‘Age-based limits on mobile phone use are a welcome first step, but how adults spend time with children is paramount.
We must not only limit screen time but actively promote what should replace it.
Children need to play, to have protected screen-free time, and to enjoy fun, shared experiences with the adults who care for them.’
Mr Pettitt added that the headteachers taking action in Southwark were ‘right to tread carefully when advising on families’ – and ‘also correct that it requires a partnership with parents to address the effects of screens on children’.
He previously warned parents about children and mobile phones in a letter, shared online in April, in response to controversial Netflix drama series Adolescence.
Mr Pettitt wrote about what he called ‘a shocking and deeply thought-provoking series’ and one particular scene in which the central character Jamie’s parents admitted they were unaware about the dangerous online content he was accessing.
The prestigious Highgate School (pictured) in north London was founded 450 years ago
Parents who have sent their children to Highgate School include actor Jude Law, seen here attending a Star Wars: Skeleton Crew photocall in London’s Trafalgar Square last November
Hollywood A-lister Gwyneth Paltrow’s children have also gone to the north London school – she is pictured here at Paris Fashion Week last September
He said: ‘The online world is all-encompassing, and we teeter into it as if into an abyss. But it is no substitute for actual human interaction with those closest to us.
‘This is important at home, too. Our children absorb things from us. Our views, actions and habits shape them.
‘If we like reading, it’s more likely our children will like reading. If we support a team, it’s more likely our children will support that same team.
‘We end up not only having things we do in common; we’ll be doing them together. In the Pettitt household, it’s crosswords and cooking.
‘You’ll all have those special but really not so special routines which mean you spend time together and time chatting.
‘If we have wired into our routines time to be together for some part of every day, time to chat every day, we’ll see more quickly when they withdraw, we’ll notice if something is awry.’
The Princess of Wales has shared online and spoken often about the hobbies, outdoor experiences and home interests her children enjoy – including recently George’s love of painting and watching him and Louis play rugby at weekends.
She has recently sparked speculation that Highgate School could be one of the next options for George after being seen seen visiting both Highgate and nearby University College School in Hampstead, north London.
Highgate School alumni include the actor Freddie Highmore (pictured), who has starred in films such as 2004’s Finding Neverland and the following year’s Charlie And The Chocolate Factory
The Princess of Wales recently toured two elite north London day schools, as she and her husband Prince William weigh up where to send Prince George next year
Prince George (pictured last Christmas Day in Sandringham, Norfolk), 11, currently attends co-educational Lambrook School with siblings Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, six
Both schools are about 30 miles from the Wales’ Windsor base, potentially meaning journey times of more than an hour each way.
Highgate School has been hailed for its ‘world-class’ drama department and has been the choice of school for the children of famous actors such as Dame Emma Thompson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law.
Its alumni include the former child actor Freddie Highmore, now 33, who starred alongside Johnny Depp in the 2004 film Finding Neverland as well as in the following year’s Charlie And The Chocolate Factory.
The Princess, now in remission from cancer, was seen at £10,525-a-term Highgate School just after it closed for the Christmas break at the end of last year.
An insider told the Mail on Sunday in February: ‘The family did go round and have a look and apparently, it’s because the school has a rather brilliant drama department – genuinely world class.
‘Kate spent quite a long time talking to two of the teachers there, including the Head of Drama, and was asking them about the drama curriculum and extracurricular activities and what opportunities there might be for appearing in school plays.
‘One of the reasons they’re drawn to visiting Highgate is that the department is known as somewhere that feeds into RADA.
‘Highgate has got a very strong focus on Shakespeare with a nuanced and intelligent approach to drama.
Prince George and Catherine, Princess of Wales, are pictured here when meeting Second World War veterans at a tea party in Buckingham Palace on May 5 this year
The Princess of Wales is seen accompanying Prince George (left) and Prince Louis (right) to their current school, Lambrook School in Berkshire, in September 2022
As well as recently visiting Highgate School, the Princess is believed to have also visited nearby University College School (pictured) in Hampstead, north London
The Prince and Princess of Wales regularly share online photographs of family experiences with their children – including this outdoor picture of Kate and eldest son George
‘It’s where people send their children if they want somewhere more elevated than the Brit School.
‘Apparently, Kate was advised that this school will help George out, but not in pressurised way.’
It has been suggested that the Princess’s alma mater, Marlborough College in Wiltshire, could be the royal couple’s preferred choice for not only George but also his younger siblings Princess Charlotte, 10, and seven-year-old Prince Louis.
They are currently attending Lambrook School in Berkshire, with George due to move to his next school in autumn next year.
The Prince and Princess of Wales are said to be ‘thinking outside the box’ and continuing to look at options other than Marlborough College.
MailOnline has contacted Highgate School for comment.
