05.32
esca
A pupil who was banned for wearing his hair in a West African "cornrows" style has taken his fight to the High Court claiming his school is racist.
The schoolboy, 13, was refused entry to St Gregory's Catholic Science College in Kenton, Harrow, north London, because of his hairstyle, it was claimed.
The teenager, who can only be known as “G” for legal reasons, suffered a “major blow to his self esteem” after being told he was excluded on his first day of class.
The popular West African style of braiding along the scalp is prohibited for boys under the school’s strict uniform and hair policy.
School officials argued the hairstyles could be used by pupils as “badges” of gang membership.
But on Tuesday, the High Court, sitting in London, heard the decision was “unlawful” and breached race and sex discrimination laws, a claim denied by the school.
Girls at the school, identified by the government as one of the best performing in the country, are allowed to wear cornrows.
The schoolboy, who is of African-Caribbean origin, and his mother asked Mr Justice Collins to overturn the school’s decision, taken in September 2009, which forced him to attend another school.
The teenager, still wearing the cornrows he has worn since infancy, attended court on Tuesday with his mother.
David Wolfe QC, representing the family, told the court that the boy had always worn his hair in cornrows, which reached to the top of his collar, as part of a family tradition.
The boy’s mother, who are from north west London, said in a statement to the court that the braids were "of great importance to his cultural and racial identity".
She said her son, 12 at the time, was in high spirits about his first day at secondary school but that being rejected minutes after arriving "was a major blow to his self-esteem".
The court heard the pair were 10 minutes late for a school meeting a couple of months earlier, when potential new pupils were told orally that cornrows were banned.
School officials held fears that it was serving an area affected by gun and knife crime, much of it gang related. Hairstyles could be "badges" of gang identity, they added.
While the school did not regard cornrows as specifically gang-linked, it argued allowing pupils to wear them would make efforts to ban other styles, such as the skinhead cut popular with right-wing extremists, more difficult.
But Mr Wolfe accused the school of racism, arguing the braids ban was in breach of race and sex discrimination laws.
He told the court the braids ban amounted to "an unlawful and disproportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim".
The school rejected the accusations, claiming the policy was both rational and lawful.
The court heard the school was a "highly successful, hugely oversubscribed" voluntary aided Catholic institution, which had recently achieved excellent academic results, with black African and African-Caribbean pupils performing well.
Peter Oldham QC, for the school, said Andrew Prindiville, the head-teacher had been left in no doubt that, if he made an exception to the "no cornrows" rule for G, "grave difficulties" would occur.
There would be growing pressure to allow other exceptions, making it difficult to maintain the school's overall policy on uniform and haircuts.
Mr Oldham argued the school acted proportionately and lawfully used that policy as a crucial part of its strategy to keep gangs out of the school.
"There is a very real threat of this gang culture coming into the school," he said.
Outside court, G’s mother said her son had been made to feel he had done something wrong by the school "purely because of his hairstyle".
"He was left feeling rejected and humiliated on his first day at secondary school,” she said.
It is unclear who is footing the bill for but the law firm representing the family is known for fighting test cases on legal aid.
The case continues.
The teenager, who can only be known as “G” for legal reasons, suffered a “major blow to his self esteem” after being told he was excluded on his first day of class.
The popular West African style of braiding along the scalp is prohibited for boys under the school’s strict uniform and hair policy.
School officials argued the hairstyles could be used by pupils as “badges” of gang membership.
But on Tuesday, the High Court, sitting in London, heard the decision was “unlawful” and breached race and sex discrimination laws, a claim denied by the school.
Girls at the school, identified by the government as one of the best performing in the country, are allowed to wear cornrows.
The schoolboy, who is of African-Caribbean origin, and his mother asked Mr Justice Collins to overturn the school’s decision, taken in September 2009, which forced him to attend another school.
The teenager, still wearing the cornrows he has worn since infancy, attended court on Tuesday with his mother.
David Wolfe QC, representing the family, told the court that the boy had always worn his hair in cornrows, which reached to the top of his collar, as part of a family tradition.
The boy’s mother, who are from north west London, said in a statement to the court that the braids were "of great importance to his cultural and racial identity".
She said her son, 12 at the time, was in high spirits about his first day at secondary school but that being rejected minutes after arriving "was a major blow to his self-esteem".
The court heard the pair were 10 minutes late for a school meeting a couple of months earlier, when potential new pupils were told orally that cornrows were banned.
School officials held fears that it was serving an area affected by gun and knife crime, much of it gang related. Hairstyles could be "badges" of gang identity, they added.
While the school did not regard cornrows as specifically gang-linked, it argued allowing pupils to wear them would make efforts to ban other styles, such as the skinhead cut popular with right-wing extremists, more difficult.
But Mr Wolfe accused the school of racism, arguing the braids ban was in breach of race and sex discrimination laws.
He told the court the braids ban amounted to "an unlawful and disproportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim".
The school rejected the accusations, claiming the policy was both rational and lawful.
The court heard the school was a "highly successful, hugely oversubscribed" voluntary aided Catholic institution, which had recently achieved excellent academic results, with black African and African-Caribbean pupils performing well.
Peter Oldham QC, for the school, said Andrew Prindiville, the head-teacher had been left in no doubt that, if he made an exception to the "no cornrows" rule for G, "grave difficulties" would occur.
There would be growing pressure to allow other exceptions, making it difficult to maintain the school's overall policy on uniform and haircuts.
Mr Oldham argued the school acted proportionately and lawfully used that policy as a crucial part of its strategy to keep gangs out of the school.
"There is a very real threat of this gang culture coming into the school," he said.
Outside court, G’s mother said her son had been made to feel he had done something wrong by the school "purely because of his hairstyle".
"He was left feeling rejected and humiliated on his first day at secondary school,” she said.
It is unclear who is footing the bill for but the law firm representing the family is known for fighting test cases on legal aid.
The case continues.
Posted in: 
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar