An angry dad claimed his 12-year-old son was the victim of discrimination over his 'extreme' haircut. The boy was placed in isolation at school after returning from the Easter holidays sporting the unacceptable style.
James Cullen does not believe his son, Jacob, would have been treated the same way by teachers at St Andrew's Catholic School, in Leatherhead, Surrey, if he was a girl. Jacob returned to school after Easter with his new trim, which included blond highlights and some of his hair shaved down to grade one.
The school contacted Mr Cullen stating the cut was unacceptable and that Jacob was being placed in isolation away from other students. The pupil remained separated from his classmates during free periods and breaks for the rest of the week, SurreyLive reports.
Mr Cullen claimed the punishment was unreasonable after he witnessed female pupils with highlighted hair. He raged: "In the meeting I had with the school, his head of year suggested that he shave his head.
"I don't believe for a minute if he was a female pupil that they would have said that." But the school responded by claiming no such suggestion was made during the meeting.
The isolation continued until Monday (April 25), at which point Mr Cullen threatened to keep Jacob at home if the punishment was not lifted. The school replied saying that the isolation would end from Tuesday, in an attempt to end the stand-off.
"I don't want to draw a line under it, I've just started," said Mr Cullen. "What we need is consistency, the rules need to apply across the board. I've dropped Jacob off at school every morning for the past seven months, and I've seen lots of female students with bleached blonde hair."
The school's uniform policy, as stated on its website, says: "Extremes of fashion in clothing, footwear and hairstyle are not permitted. Hair colour and style must be appropriate for school. Dyed hair is not acceptable. Number two is the shortest cut allowed."
Headteacher Alan Mitchell denied the rules were applied differently for male and female pupils, and said regulations were explained clearly to parents in the months before their child is admitted. He said: "Parents would expect me to apply the rules fairly and consistently. We made the rules crystal clear, and we know that's what is best for the kids."
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