A 14-year-old girl has been excluded from classes for dying her hair – despite it being part of a lesson.
Lucyanna Ralph was supervised by a teacher as she coloured her brown hair red as part of a beauty studies class before Christmas.
But when she returned for the new term at Walthamstow Academy in London this week she was sent to a windowless room as punishment because the dye hadn’t faded.
Senior staff said her appearance did not fit with the “business dress” required at the school.
But her furious mum Christine Hughes, 53, said she had been treated like a “criminal” and ordered to sit in silence for hours.
She said: “It’s disgraceful. She tried to explain why her hair was dyed but they wouldn’t listen.
“She was taken out of valuable lessons and locked in a small room like a criminal.
“It’s like something out of Victorian times and she didn’t even do anything wrong.”
Christine said her daughter was so upset she was unsure if she would return to the school.
She added: “The teacher told her she would be in an exclusion room as long as her hair was dyed. But she’s had enough and isn’t even sure if she wants to go back there.
“The dye is supposed to go after a certain number of washes but it hasn’t gone yet.
“They wouldn’t even let her go outside at break times. Instead of going for a hot lunch in the canteen they brought her a cheese roll.”
The school requires pupils to attend classes in what it describes as “business dress” and allows certain colours of hair dye.
Academy principal Emma Skae said she did not comment on individual pupils but hoped to meet Ms Hughes in an attempt to resolve the matter.
