Cruel and unnecessary: school slammed for 'putting style over education'

A number of year seven boys at Bishop of Winchester have been placed in isolation and told to dye their hair amid claims they had broken the strict rules about uniform.

After turning up for their first day at the church school, the youngsters were not allowed to meet their new classmates, and instead placed in cubicles in an isolation room.

Staff told parents the boys’ hair was too short, but parents disputed this saying there were plenty of other students with similar styles.

And staff also suggested they dye their children’s hair with root spray to make it look longer.

The school declined to comment when approached by the Daily Echo.

But Jeff Williams, director of education for the Diocese of Winchester said: “I am aware of concerns raised by some parents that their children have been unfairly reprimanded for breaking school uniform rules at the Bishop of Winchester Academy.

“ The Bishop of Winchester Academy is an excellent school which strives to help young people maximise their potential, and it asks for high standards of appearance from all of its students.

“I trust that the school and parents will be working together to ensure that this issue is resolved and the young people involved can now focus on their studies.”

Legal advice from DAS Law on the matter of school rules says that although schools are entitled to have regulations over appearance, they have to be reasonable.

Parents reacting to the story online yesterday also had some strong views.

One said: “This is teaching children it’s okay to isolate a person because they disagree with the way they look.

“Education should be more important than a hair cut.”

Another said: “To make examples of these children on their first day of school is cruel and unnecessary.

“What the school has done is stigmatise these children, marking them out as potential trouble makers to both teachers and other children. I believe in rules but they need to be fair.”