Girl left in tears on her 15th birthday after being told she was going to be kicked out of class for having a hair braid
Her mum says she is 'heartbroken' that young Ellie-Mae was threatened with punishment on her birthday
A SCHOOLGIRL was left in tears on her 15th birthday after teachers threatened she would be removed from class because her hair braid was "extreme".
Ellie-Mae Holmes was told she had fallen foul of the rules at Our Lady and St John Catholic College, in Blackburn, Lancashire.
She was warned she would also be barred from school trips because of the single plait.
Ellie-Mae, and sisters, Lucy, 11, and Katie, six, had their hair braided in Greece after a family holiday three weeks ago.
Her mother, Becky Gemmell, 33, said the school had not had an issue with her daughter's hair until yesterday when her daughter called home.
The sisters are now set to reluctantly remove the blue and white braids.
Ellie was crying when she called me to say the school were threatening to punish her.
Becky Gemmell
She said: "I was heartbroken, Ellie was crying when she called me to say the school were threatening to punish her.
"It was her birthday as well. She had never been told about the braid previously so I didn't think there was a problem.
"Her sister Lucy who goes to the same school has the braids and she's not been told to remove them, so I feel as if Ellie is being picked on.
"I was told it was against school policy to have extreme hair, I don't see how it's extreme."
The Blackburn school's uniform policy states that 'Extreme hairstyles are not allowed', but does not describe what constitutes the definition.
The Department for Education's School uniform September 2013 guidelines said governors should be willing to consider reasonable requests for flexibility in the uniform policy for an individual pupil, to accommodate particular social and cultural circumstances.
However, it does not mention banned hairstyles.
Ms Gemmell said: "We went on holiday and got the braids done as a treat, they even match the colours of the school.
"Both of my daughters at the school went in and not one word was said about them, I didn't have any letters home either.
"It's upsetting because I don't understand why she is suddenly being targeted for her hair."
The mum-of-three said her eldest was threatened to be withdrawn from taking her GCSE's at the school after 'disrupting' a mock exam last week.
Ms Gemmell said: "When I asked the head of year what happened, I was told she sat upright in her chair and looked around the room to try and engage with other students.
"I asked if she had spoke or made any noise and was told she wasn't making any noise.
"It's absolutely ridiculous and I'm so angry, she doesn't deserve this treatment." Last year, a boy from
Hoddlesden St Paul CE Primary School in Darwen was banned from going to school after his hair breached school rules.
An Our Lady and St John Catholic College spokesman said: "At Our Lady and St John we set high aspirations and expectations of our pupils, including uniform and personal presentation.
"This is in-keeping with the types of first-class professional organisations we expect our students to aspire to and our experiences of other outstanding schools.
"We always try to work closely with our parents to provide a first class education for every OLSJ Learner.";
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