A school sent a teenage girl into isolation because she dyed her hair red.
Natalya Page, 14, was and told she could not attend lessons at Kenton Academy, in Kenton, Newcastle, until she had her hair dyed back to its natural colour.
Teachers told her she would need to sit on her own with her form teacher, away from the rest of the class.
They contacted the pupil’s father asking for permission to recolour his daughter’s hair in the school salon.
But Fred Page, 44, refused and accused the school of overreacting.
Mr Page, a taxi driver, said: ‘It’s ridiculous – she’s dyed her hair, not her brain.
‘I do understand they have got to look after the image of the school, but how can it affect her education?
‘How can they teach them to be different if they are going to put them down for the simplest of things? I just feel as though she is being persecuted.’
Miss Page claims that she dyed her hair weeks ago, and that teachers have only just noticed the change.
Principal David Pearmain said: ‘Natalya came to school last week with her hair dyed a colour which she was well aware was against school uniform regulations.
‘She was offered the opportunity to dye it back to a more natural colour but refused to do so,’ he said.
‘She was also offered the option from our fully qualified and experienced hair and beauty staff in our own well equipped salon. She and her family refused this also.
‘Therefore she is being educated in isolation from other students until the issue is resolved. She is present in school today and has not been excluded at any time.
‘We insist on high standards of dress and behaviour at all times.’
