[Ammi]

A school which banned a teenager from class for having his head shaved for charity has been forced to back down after a mass walkout by pupils.

Rhys Johnson, 14, was ordered to be taught in isolation for flouting the school uniform code and getting his head shaved at a Macmillan cancer charity event last weekend.

The teenager, from Milford Haven, west Wales, raised £700 with a friend when he took part in the charity's UK-wide annual coffee morning.

The Milford Haven School pupil wanted to raise cash for cancer research after his aunt was diagnosed with the potentially fatal disease.

But he went ahead with the charity event despite being warned in advance by the school not to get his head shaved.

As a result he was removed from class when he showed up at school last Monday without a hair on his head and was subsequently taught in isolation.

A walkout by up to 250 school pupils in protest at his continued separation from the rest of the school appears to have helped force a rethink.

Lucy O'Neill, the teenager's mother, said her son would be allowed back in to classes as normal from next Monday

"I'm very proud of Rhys and I've been completely overwhelmed by the support from his friends, fellow students and parents," she told the Western Telegraph of Haverfordwest.

"I'm happy that they achieved what they wanted through the protest and it proved that they weren't prepared to back down. Most of the students have gone back into school now and we're trying to get the others to go back in."

She said that the decision regarding her son was taken after she had met senior teachers at the school.

On Monday she will meet with headteacher Rod Francis together with her son, who wants an apology from the school for the way he has been treated.

Mrs O'Neill has highlighted the different way in which her son's friend, Tesni, was treated for taking part in the charity event last Saturday.

The schoolgirl, who attends Tasker Milward VC School in Haverfordwest, was reportedly praised for her money-raising efforts for the cancer charity.

Pembrokeshire County Council said previously that policy differs from school to school regarding a uniform code, which is set by a governing body.

A council spokesman confirmed that a walkout by pupils at Milford Haven School in protest at the treatment of Rhys Johnson had taken place.

A spokesman for Milford Haven School said: "The pupil in question and his mother were informed of the consequences of breaking the uniform and appearance rules prior to doing so.

"When the rules were broken, an appropriate sanction was enforced, namely supervised study.

"This was a short-term measure which was clearly communicated and a return to the pupil's normal timetable would have been effective once he complied with the school's ruling.

"At Milford Haven School we believe it is important to maintain high standards in every aspect of school life, including uniform and appearance.

"The reason for such policies is that there is a clear link between maintaining high standards in school behaviour and academic achievement.

"And, to be fair to all our pupils, these rules must be consistently applied.

"Pupils and parents are frequently reminded of this and the vast majority are fully supportive.

"This issue has not arisen as a result of raising funds. It has arisen because of a clear breach of school rules.

"Pupils at Milford Haven School are widely praised for the work they do together in raising funds for many charities. However, this work is carried out within the boundaries of the school rules.

"While this morning's demonstration by some pupils was disappointing and ill-advised, lessons for the vast majority of pupils continued as normal."

A spokesman for Pembrokeshire County Council said: "We are confident that the vast majority of parents will support the school in its efforts to raise academic standards and implement school rules."

[arista]

"A school which banned a teenager from class
for having his head shaved for charity
has been forced to back down after
a mass walkout by pupils."


Fair Unity
for a Change

[Ninastar]

while i think the idea is pretty sweet, i also think a lot of the kids would use any reason to walk out of the school.

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Ninastar

while i think the idea is pretty sweet, i also think a lot of the kids would use any reason to walk out of the school.

..yeah, I remember when there was something at my son's school..I can't remember what it was though but the students all staged a 'sit in' on the field for the day 'in protest'..he said to me that they all just thought it was something to do and better than lessons...or something similar anyway and I guess as the whole school did it, they probably knew the staff couldn't do much....

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by Ammi

..yeah, I remember when there was something at my son's school..I can't remember what it was though but the students all staged a 'sit in' on the field for the day 'in protest'..he said to me that they all just thought it was something to do and better than lessons...or something similar anyway and I guess as the whole school did it, they probably knew the staff couldn't do much....

The students that organised it obviously felt it was worth some action.
The fact your son had that opinion does not mean every student did, and seeing as you can't remember the cause it's hard to comment on whether or not it was justified.
Disregarding the thoughts and feelings of young people on issues doesn't sit well with me.
I don' t feel a 'put up and shut up' attitude works.

[smudgie]

I would have suspended him, let his mother have the pleasure of looking after him. They were both told of the consequences beforehand.
He could quite easily have found some other form of fund raising for the charity.

[MTVN]

Tbh I doubt the walkout had any effect at all, I mean they weren't exactly gonna keep him in isolation the entire time until his hair grew back, like they said it was always intended as just a short term measure

[Ramsay]

Bit of a ridiculous rule..it's his hair, let him do what he wants with it
Very nice gesture by the students but i agree with what Caitlin said

[Kizzy]

It wasn't an act of teen rebellion, it was for charity ..rules can be bent in certain circumstances.
Another brick in the wall?

[Vicky.]

What a stupid rule.

[Ninastar]

i agree it's a stupid rule, but if he was warned before and went ahead and did it, then he should be expelled or whatever they call it here.

i stand by my opinion that most kids would have done it to get out of school. especially considering the fact that he's going back to school on monday with no problems, and they are having trouble getting some of the other kids back. that one did make me chuckle a bit.

[Toy Soldier]

Originally Posted by Ninastar

i stand by my opinion that most kids would have done it to get out of school. especially considering the fact that he's going back to school on monday with no problems, and they are having trouble getting some of the other kids back. that one did make me chuckle a bit.

Well obviously. There was a mass walk-out at my school over them refusing to let girls wear trousers in winter (whilst at the same time refusing to allow pupils to stay indoors during interval / lunch)... but clearly most people just walked out for a day off school and because they wanted to be involved in "the drama". In the end they caved because one of the "lead girls'" dad was a highly successful lawyer and started threatening them with a claim of sexism / discrimination .


Anyway, I personally think dictating what pupils can and can't do with their own hair is utterly ridiculous. A uniform / dress code is one thing, but what uniform, other than military, dictates hair style? And even then, you can't stipulate "no baldness"! Some poor chaps in the adult world don't really have much choice there. I can see their point, almost, with hair dyed wild colours or people sporting Mohawks or whatever, but a shaved head? "Sorry son, that's not regulation 3cm hair length, get out". :S.


Also... what would they do if a pupil was undergoing chemotherapy themselves and lost their hair? Or if they had alopecia? Would they be told to go home until they found a suitable wig as to not disrupt the flow of knowledge?

And what exactly is this school teaching people? That mindlessly conforming to a uniform code is more important than raising money for a charity, inspired by a sick relative? Meh. **** school, **** teachers with no common sense and no idea how to properly apply positive discretion.

[T*]

The feck is wrong with schools? Why are they being this stupid to pupils? Complete and utter arseholes of teachers, hope they go bust because of this news story, so they can't be imbeciles and destroy something a boy was doing to be charitable.

[Toy Soldier]

Originally Posted by Cuda

The feck is wrong with schools? Why are they being this stupid to pupils? Complete and utter arseholes of teachers, hope they go bust because of this news story, so they can't be imbeciles and destroy something a boy was doing to be charitable.

It's a state funded school, not a private one, which makes this story even more ridiculous. A private school that charges what is essentially a "membership fee" is free to dictate a uniform code as strictly as they want, in my opinion, because if their members are not happy with what they're paying for they can take their business elsewhere.

A state school, though? Bit big for their boots if you ask me, dictating pupil's hairstyles.

[T*]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

It's a state funded school, not a private one, which makes this story even more ridiculous. A private school that charges what is essentially a "membership fee" is free to dictate a uniform code as strictly as they want, in my opinion, because if their members are not happy with what they're paying for they can take their business elsewhere.

A state school, though? Bit big for their boots if you ask me, dictating pupil's hairstyles.

I go to a Private/Independent school, yes, they're fairly strict of uniform code, but, if you strolled in bald, they'd be absolutely fine with it because it is a haircut, not extremes of hair style. What would be bad in my school is like dying your hair blue when you had brown hair or having fake tan, etc.

Strange how my school is strict, but not as strict as that stupid school in the story.

[Kizzy]

This was not a whim, this was a matter of principle. He was effectively punished for a charitable act, can that ever be justified?
Schools can't be seen as institutions of repression, the reasoning was out here.

[smeagol]

lol just shows what a f'd up world this is. run by nerds and braindead twats lol .
sadly this sort of thing happens every day with rules made by mini hitlers .
glad they walked out. united is the only way to stop these kind of things happening

[Ammi]

..I’m not suggesting that anyone should ‘put up or shut up’ ..only that not every single student will have strong enough feelings to take action about everything but if the whole school are doing it then of course they will as well and in this particular story it would be naive to think that some wouldn’t just see it as a ‘day off’, whether the cause be worthy or not ....

[Kizzy]

I didn't mean you ammi I meant schools. I'm not naive there are those who jump on the bandwagon like your lad did, that doesn't mean there is never a legitimate reason for protest.

[Nedusa]

Bloody stupid school, what were they thinking ? I'm glad the pupils walked out serve the school right for such a stupid knee jerk reaction....!!!!

[Brother Leon]

Lol at not being able to have a shaved head. The **** sort of school.

[Jake.]

Being punished for doing something brilliant and charitable? Pathetic, good on him tbh

[Shaun]

total non-debate, there's no argument for the school's stance. Archaic nonsense, as are all uniform rules.