Summary
A 13-year-old boy who was refused entry to St Gregory’s Catholic Science College in London has won a court case he started against the school. The school had barred him for wearing his hair in cornrows, which goes against the traditional hair policy the school maintains. The judge ruled that the school had indirectly racial discriminated the boy, because wearing cornrows is part of the boy’s religion and heritage. The school’s hair regulations are meant to create a school atmosphere without gang mentality or discrimination, which is why the judge also concluded that the school had most likely made a mistake in not recognizing the cornrows as a part of the boy’s culture.
Reaction
I personally think that schools should not be in the business of deciding which haircuts pupils can and can not come to school with in the first place. Very extreme hairstyles should off course be banned in schools if they truly distract or upset fellow students, but I do not think that the school should have been sent home because of wearing his hair in cornrows, which is a relatively neat hairstyle. Since wearing his hair in cornrows is a part of his cultural identity, I think it is a good thing that the boy has won the court case.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jun/17/school-ban-cornrows-indirect-discrimination?INTCMP=SRCH
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