TWO 11-year-old boys have been suspended after turning up at school with "designer" haircuts.
Now their furious parents are demanding answers from the head of the Gorton secondary school, claiming no official guidelines have ever been published on how pupils should style their hair.
Ashley Cullen and his cousin Nathan were told by staff at Wright Robinson Sports College that their shaved styles, illustrating logos by sports brand Nike and jeans label Evisu, were "inappropriate".
Headteacher Neville Beischer told the boys to stay at home until their hair grows back to a "more acceptable length", despite the fact there is no formal rule in the school handbook about acceptable hair length.
Ashley's mother Janet, of Andre Street, Clayton, said: "I am fuming. The boys came home on Monday with a note saying their hairstyles were not appropriate, but it didn't state they had been suspended so we sent them to school as usual on Tuesday. When they arrived home that lunchtime, I was livid."
"Mr Beischer thinks he is running a private school where rules can be changed as he pleases, but when this interferes with children's education it should be questioned."
Mr Beischer, who is so committed to the school's uniform policy he wears the outfit himself, said: "We have a strict, zero tolerance policy that means if pupils come to school dressed inappropriately they will be disciplined.
"If I feel that a child's appearance is likely to disrupt the smooth running of the school then I will take action.
"I will be inviting the boys' parents into school to discuss the situation further."
During an OFSTED inspection carried out at the school in April, reference was made to the "considerable" number of temporary period exclusions or suspensions, but noted that the number of permanent exclusions was low.
Was the school right to suspend these boys?
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Do these parents honestly need 'official guidelines' to realise that these haircuts are unacceptable?
Why can schools suspend pupils as a punishment, when parents who take their children out of school for a couple of days to avoid sky high holiday prices now run the risk of a fine?
Does no parent have any common sense anymore? I know that when I was at school I would have been sent home for an outrageous haircut like these boys have. Infact, my parents wouldn't be happy with it either. Even if there isn't a statement about hair length in the school code, it's common sense that this is not acceptable.
Are these parents for real? They themselves say they are not happy with the haircuts. Pupils are pushing the limits on uniform all the time, with girls' skirts getting shorter all the time, and boys growing their hair long, or shaving it to the bone, but this latest stunt looks downright ridiculous! Let them back when it grows back.
Good on the school. It's about time someone stood up for standards instead of letting them slip through the floor like everything else in this country.
As the mother of 2 sons about the same age as these 2 boys, I would be mortified to send them out the front door with haircuts like these. Not only should the boys be suspended, the parents should be ashamed of themselves. Good luck to the headmaster.
Rules are rules they don't have any excuse. Too many kids & parents think they can do as they wish. That's half the problem these days nobody has got any standards anymore. They must have know this would cause them problems, SO WHY DO IT?
I suppose some lawyer will see a chance to try and sue the school on some human rights issue now, and make himself a few quid.
What's the problem with their hair? We all know many superstars(Beckam) have wild haircuts from time to time and these children are only following their idols.
The parents are "furious" I have never heard such nonsense. What self respecting parent ALLOWS their child to have that haircut? It has become far too easy to blame the teachers when the root of so much of society's problems is in bad parenting.
Okay, so there were no official rules on hair cuts, but come on... what did their mum expect? The kids might be excused, but what about the parents? Could they not have used a bit of common sense? If they weren't happy with the hair cuts then why didn't they say no? Or do they just let their children do whatever they want? There are lots of things rules don't cover, in school as well as life, but that's what common sense is for. If there wasn't a rule explicity stating that, say, pupils weren't allowed to wear swastika armbands and the head sent them home, would she be 'fuming' then, just because it wasn't in the rules?
This is just poor parenting.
Quite right Headmaster - I bet it doesn't say in the school rule book that the children cannot write on walls - but if they did would the parents say "well it's not in the rule book". The parents themselves need educating.
Do these parents actually think their offspring should go about as a walking advert for designer brands. It's a good thing school still tries to educate children about these things.
Silly parents !!
It says in the article that the children arrived back at home at lunchtime after being sent home...............LUNCHTIME !!
What the hell were they doing from 09.00am til lunchtime ? I bet they were roaming the streets, no doubt with other truants, showing off their new haircuts !
Bren
Since when does a hair cut impact on the pupils attitude to his studies?
The boys are missing out on their education, and the headteacher won't allow them back until their hair is 'acceptable' again. War, always war ! Why no compromise ?
Let them wear hairpieces whilst back at school, then everybody's happy! Apart from the 2 kids that is, punishment for going out and getting a stupid haircut (probably behind their parent's backs). 11 year-olds can go to the hairdresser on their own you know !
I think the hairstyles are stylish and not cause for concern, the only person who is disrupting the school is the headteacher for suspending children over things as petty as this. Most schools hold the "zero tolorance" rule and is upheld, but this is taking it to extremes suspending those young boys for having stylish hairstyles was wrong, and could cause problems instead of trying to keep things under wraps.
I agree with the head on this issue! These type of haircuts make kids look like idiots and portrays a bad image for what seems to be a decent school.
Well done to the head. It's about time parents supported the school and some basic standards rather than these ridiculous haircuts which they themselves don't like. They wouldn't be able to have these stupid haircuts in most workplaces so why is this deemed acceptable by the parents for school when the idea of the need to follow rules is set?
What is wrong with having a good hair style - why does it affect the learning!
I'm just wondering how many of those submitting comments walked around with purple mohawks ( or something similar) 25 yrs ago?
Everyone just chill out! It's only hair! It's not hurting anyone, it's not affecting anyone. If the head wishes to make sure that everyone doesn't follow suit then give them detention for a few evenings or something. There is no reason to miss school for it. Times are changing, this isn't 1950.
Is this a joke? Surely their parent were in no way suprised when they were sent home because of their hair? Perhaps the parents need to go back to school to see if they can be taught some sense.
Of course they should have been suspended!! Now that those kids have that haircut, they're labelled, whether they like it or not. It seems that their parents are simply irresponsible. LISTEN CAREFULLY - THIS SOCIETY HAS RULES, AND WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, WE ALL HAVE TO LIVE BY THEM!!!
I just give up! How can any parent let their child go to school like that??? The school have done the right thing. People ignore rules too often today and that is the problem with attitude you see all round you. No respect for anybody, no self respect even. Why would anyone want such a rediculous haircut??? Never mind letting a child have one like that. ARGHH. WAKE UP, GROW UP, SHUT UP!!! Accept the consequences of your silly actions as parents.