THE head of a top Bournemouth boys' school has denied introducing a 'stop and search' policy on mobiles, despite warning pupils their phones could be seized and screened.

Dorian Lewis, headteacher at the Bournemouth School, Charminster, contacted parents to clarify the school's mobile phone policy after 'recent incidents' at the East Way campus.

Staff will be able to confiscate phones and devices as part of a move targetting 'inappropriate' phone use, said the head. In some cases phone content would be screened, he added.

While Mr Lewis told the Daily Echo "there is no stop and search policy" on mobile phones, he did confirm phones could be searched if bullying or accessing of inappropriate images was suspected.

He said: "You will appreciate that we simply do not have the capacity to randomly search students' phones - even if we wished to."

School policy prohibits the taking of photographs or video while travelling to and from its Charminster campus, at school or while on trips, visits or fixtures that would enable viewers to identify "any member of our community or the school through uniform or location."

In his communication to parents, Mr Lewis said: "Following recent incidents we may decide to search through any images or videos on any phone or mobile device that is confiscated under our behavioural policy, or where an investigation leads us to believe that inappropriate text, images and/or videos are on the device."

An article published on the Bournemouth School's online student newspaper, The Bournemouthian, alleged 'spot checks' of students' phones were looming, after the email was sent to parents discussing the proposals.

However, Mr Lewis said: "The article in our student online newspaper has taken comments out of context. We will only be looking at phone content when there is reason to do so."

The student newspaper article, written by George Wright, highlights student concerns about the circumstances which mobiles could be seized and subsequently searched.

"Trawling through images, videos and text messages with no prior indication of wrongdoing – other than the minor offence of using the phone during lessons – potentially poses a significant threat to personal privacy and opens the floodgates to further arbitrary intrusions," it added.

Mr Lewis says the school would always seek the consent of the student to access any information on their device - only asking students to unlock phones if staff have reason to believe it had been used inappropriately, for example, in bullying another student or accessing inappropriate images.

He said: "A student using their mobile phone appropriately has nothing to fear from this approach."