School acts on piercings
An Evesham schoolgirl has been banned from the classroom less than a month before she is due to sit important exams - for breaching a school ban on body piercings.
Becky Hirons, 14, of Shepherd’s Pool, was initially sent home from school last week after the Easter break, when a teacher spotted a tongue piercing. She was told not to return until it had been removed.
She said: “The head of our year said that I had to take it out because we were not allowed to have piercings.
“My mum had just paid £25 for me to have it done as a birthday present and if I had taken it out, it will heal up.
“I asked if I could put it in at break and lunchtimes but I was told I couldn’t.
“The piercing is not visible since it’s inside my mouth, so what’s the problem?”
“If I take it out that would mean the whole thing would have been a waste of money and I went through a lot of pain when I actually got it done.
Becky, a Year 9 pupil at Prince Henry’s School, added: “This is not fair as I have my S.A.T.S. in a couple of weeks and I want to go back to school in time for them otherwise I am going to get no marks for it.
“I think it is discriminating and a bit pathetic as I’m being stopped from being educated as I have one tongue piercing that you cannot actually see unless I poke my tongue out or open my mouth really wide.”
However, she has been allowed to return to the school this week although she is being kept in isolation away from her classmates.
“We’re not getting lessons, they are giving us work to do and copy sheets but that’s all,” she said.
Three other girls, also with piercings face the same conditions.
One of them, Abigail Withers, 13, said: “I got my nose pierced during half term in March. My sister paid for it for me as a present and I didn’t know I was doing anything wrong.”
Her mum, Mrs Amanda Withers, said: “I won’t insist she removes it.”
Head teacher Bernard Roberts: “We have a policy which states what piercings are allowed, which is basically one ear piercing.”
He added: “We do have a withdrawal room in school where pupils who cannot respect the rules are given work to do so a very great majority of pupils who attend this school can go about their school life without having their experience undermined by a small number of people who don’t want to respect the school rules.”
He declined to comment on Becky’s case. “I am not prepared to make any comment about any individual cases,” he said.
