Invicta Grammar School students have been off-line for a week.

They were responding to challenge set them by assistant head teacher Ronnie Ehren to "set your hands free."

The school in Huntsman Lane, Maidstone, asked them to trying living without their mobile phones and tablets and stay off social media.

Mr Ehren said: "We wanted our students to experience life without everything being documented and without being online.

"It gave them a little bit of a respite from the social worries and woes from being online all the time."

The students were invited to put a Post-It note in the school foyer documenting what they had done with their time instead.

Mr Ehren admitted that not all the students had been successful. He said: "We had some who said, 'Sorry, I just can't do that.' I guess that's the world they live in."

However, of those who took up the challenge, most found it liberating.

Lucy, 13, said: "It was difficult at first, but got easier as the week went on. I also gave up television, which was the more difficult part."

She found she had time to take up a new sport - archery - and to do more running, and she said she would continue going forward.

"I'll definitely stay off-line more, but I'm nor sure about giving up television!"

Lauren, 15, actually went cold turkey a month ago - before Invicta set the challenge.

She said: "I was in the car with my Dad and on my phone. He said: 'Lauren, you're addicted - you need to put that down.' and I thought 'Do you know what, I will!'"

Lauren's found lots more time to spend on her hobbies: playing the guitar and dancing.

She said: "It's been really good."

Other girls also felt they had benefited. Charlotte, 15, said she had found more time for reading, baking and spending time with her family.

Izzy, 17, said: "I'm glad I did it. I'm not going to completely cut it out in future, but I will definitely cut down.

Perhaps surprisingly, they said they had not felt isolated being off-line.

Lucy said: "It gave us more time to speak to our friends face to face. When we chat online all the time, we have nothing to talk about when we get to school!"