A PARENT is considering legal action against a school after his son was excluded because his hair was judged to be too short.

Russell Claydon

A PARENT is considering legal action against a school after his son was excluded because his hair was judged to be too short.

The Hadleigh High School pupil has been excluded from school after coming in with a hair length against regulations imposed by the school.

The Key Stage Three boy, who does not want to be named through fear of being further discriminated against in his education, has been told to work from home for two days before he can return to learn alongside his friends.

It comes after his dad could not find his usual Grade Two clipper attachment to cut his hair at the weekend, so cut it on a Grade One, which was deemed too short for the classroom.

Matthew Lister, the pupil's father, who lives in Sorrel Close, Ipswich, said he had been left dumbfounded by what he described as the “extreme action” taken by the school.

“It is just ridiculous,” he said. “Anyone would think he has gone into school with a swastika on his head. I have never heard of it before. They are discriminating against him.

“It is irrelevant how long the hair is. How does him not having hair affect him learning at school?”

His son, who lives with his mum in Hadleigh, has been left embarrassed by being pulled out of school in front of his friends and is anxious about returning.

Mr Lister, a car salesman, added: “How the hell do they know he is not a Buddhist? They did not ask any questions, they just excluded him. It could have been a medical thing. They did not try and find out.

“I am contemplating going to a solicitor about it because it is discrimination. It is not a tie, it is his identity. They are saying he cannot be who he is.”

Hadleigh High School declined to comment while Suffolk County Council, the local education authority, released the following statement.

“This is an unfortunate incident, but schools have to enforce their own well-founded rules.

“Parents and pupils would be well aware of uniform and hairstyle rules, as these are given to them repeatedly in writing and at meetings for parents.

“The limits on haircuts at Hadleigh High School are very well established and long-standing, well known and observed by the school community. For these rules to be effective, they must be enforced, by reasonable, proportionate sanctions if necessary.”