A number of principals have spoken out in support of the St John’s College which is being taken to the High Court by the parents of a 16-year-old boy suspended because his hair was too long.
St John’s College, a Catholic boys’ secondary school in Hastings, New Zealand, suspended Lucan Battison for being in breach of a hair rule requiring hair to be “off the collar and out of the eyes”.
“This is an unfortunate incident, in which our school is simply following the upkeep of school standards, as set down by school policy,” said the principal of St John, Paul Melloy.
Other principals agree that students who repeatedly break uniform rules should be punished.
Secondary Schools Principals Association president Tom Parsons said that, in the case of St John’s College, it was the parents depriving Battison of an education, not the school.
Ken Mcleod, the rector of another Hawke’s Bay state-integrated school, Lindisfarne College, said the school ensures that students and parents sign a contract agreeing to the rules and culture of the school when they enrol.
“We have checks and we have consequences if the boys don’t have a haircut,” he said.
Wellington College headmaster, Roger Moses, said schools had the right to set standards around the uniform, providing it was explained to students.
Peter Leggat the principal of Onslow College, which does not have a uniform, said the college still had standards and expectations.
Robert Sturch , the principal of Hasting Boys’ High School said uniforms are inspected every Friday as the boys left assembly and, if their hair was getting close to the collar, they were told to get it sorted by Monday.
Katrina Casey, the Ministry of Education’s head of sector enablement and support, said that “while long hair isn’t grounds to stand down or suspend a student, challenging behaviour can have a negative impact on the student, their peers and the overall culture of a school”.
“When we’re made aware of inconsistencies in decision-making regarding stand-downs and suspensions, we work alongside the school concerned to ensure that appropriate practices are followed.
“If a student had been asked to cut their hair a number of times and had chosen to ignore it, then a school could suspend them for continued disobedience, she said.
Battison is one of four teens to be recognised by the Royal Humane Society in April for their rescue of two women at Waipatiki Beach, near Napier, in January last year.
He and a friend ran into a 1.5-metre swell and swam out to the women, who were being dragged out to sea in a rip.
Battison isn’t the only teenager in trouble for their hair. Last week, Campbell Live reported on Demetric Blank, a student from Tararua College in Pahiatua, who had also been suspended for his hair which has a pattern shaved into it.
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