Fuzzy logic? Pupils protest over beard ban
PETITION LAUNCHED FOR RIGHT TO FACIAL HAIR
STUDENTS at a Derby secondary school are campaigning to be allowed to wear facial hair and have set up an online petition in a bid to overturn the ban.
The youngsters claim they have been told to remove facial hair at St Benedict Catholic Academy, in line with the school’s uniform policy, which says “boys – please note – facial hair is NOT permitted”.
But the students are questioning the rule and one of them, who did not wish to be named, said: “Upon being told male students need to remove facial hair, multiple students have come together to form a petition.
“Why should a school so focused on diversity, unique students and independence force students to remove their facial hair?
“Their diversity, pride and individual fashion choices are being taken away and nothing is being done to prevent this.”
Tongue-in-cheek, they ask people to sign their petition and add: “Sign now to prevent more facial hair from being taken at our school and save a beard.”
Head teacher Kevin Gritton said: “Facial hair is not allowed, unless it is required for religious reasons, and this is part of our well publicised uniform policy.”
The school did not say why facial hair – beards, moustaches or sideburns – are not allowed and many other schools do not bother to mention it in their policies at all.
In Derby, one other which does have a rule is Allestree Woodlands School, where the uniform policy contains the phrase: “Boys must be clean shaven.”
But Littleover Community School does not have a no facial hair policy and instead states about hair generally: “Students should not have unnatural colours, or lines/patterns shaved into hair or eyebrows.”
In 2019, Brakenhale School in Bracknell, Berkshire, introduced a new rule banning all facial hair, also including moustaches and sideburns, so that younger pupils would not feel “intimidated” by older boys.
But a fierce parent outcry caused the school to reverse the decision.
A mum in Louth, Lincolnshire, took up a fight for her 14-year-old son who had been told by his school to shave off his facial hair, defending his right to keep it if he wished.
Reported by the Grimsby News, she said: “It’s a very personal choice and a very individual characteristic, purely governed by how late or early any child reaches puberty. “They have no control at what age their facial hair grows, both boys and girls.”
And last year, a Londonderry teenager launched a petition , which was signed by thousands of people, after his school banned him from sitting exams because he had a beard.
Why should a school so focused on diversity, unique students and independence force students to remove their facial hair? Petition