Teenage boy thrown out of class after wearing makeup to raise money for cancer research

A teenage boy who wore make up to school to raise money for cancer research was thrown out of class and told to take it off.

Levi Keat, 15, decided on his own opposite take when girls in his class joined the no make-up selfie Twitter craze.

He asked his sister to cover him in eyeliner, mascara, foundation and blusher to raise money for his cousin who is fighting Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

But when he arrived at St John Fisher Catholic School in Chatham, Kent on Friday he was told to take off the makeup or go home.

Levi was removed from a maths lesson and made to sit alone in another room despite telling teachers he was doing it to raise cash for cancer victims.

He had decided to do the money-raising stunt after losing his grandfather Tony Roberts, 68, to gall bladder cancer in August.

Levi also wanted to help his cousin Michele Smith, 48, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatment for Non Hodgkins Lymphoma.

He said: “I couldn’t really see a problem. I’d seen all these girls going make-up free at school and posting pictures to raise money.

“I thought it was a nice idea and it got me thinking. I had my normal uniform on, it was only my face that was made up.

“I went round to my sister Zoe’s house really early that morning just so she could do it for me.

“The make-up free selfie thing is a great idea but I felt left out and I wanted to do something to help my cousin.”

Before going into his first lesson, Levi took a selfie which he uploaded to his Facebook page and asked people to donate to the charity.

Levi, from Chatham, said a teacher inspecting uniform at the gate took him to one side and told him to take the slap off but he kept it on for his first maths lesson.

The same teacher then removed him, he says, telling him that unless he took the make-up off he would be excluded for the day or possibly more.

His mother, restaurant supervisor Carmel Keat, 46, accused the school of being heavy-handed.

The mother-of-four said: “He was so downcast when he told me what had happened.

“He had shown a bit of initiative and felt left out as all the girls were doing their make-up free pictures. Most girls in his class wear more make-up than that on a normal day.

“He’s an extrovert and always has these bright ideas. To threaten to send him home because of it and take him out of his lessons was way over the top.”

Levi eventually agreed to take the make-up off and remained in school.