Short back and sides may have made a comeback as the haircut of choice in young boys but the style has landed one youngster in hot water at Churchdown Academy.
Kyle Gibbs expected to be leading the fashion stakes in his class when stepping off the bus with a neatly cropped new haircut.
A phone call home to his dad Colin soon followed. But the school’s decision to force Kyle to complete his studies in isolation until his hair grew back to a respectable length was met with an angry response.
“I asked what he had done wrong and when they said it was his haircut I thought they were joking,” Colin said.
“I was shocked. I cut his hair and he has a neat short back and sides.
“The school said he would have to stay in isolation, on his own in a classroom from 8am until 5pm until his hair grows back. It is not his hair that is doing his reading and writing for him, it is madness.
Kyle has been told school policy states his hair can’t be any shorter than a grade two.
He has been taking part in trials with Birmingham City FC and wore black trainers to school as he had a heel injury that made wearing smart shoes painful. That also attracted a dressing down from teachers.
“He said it was school policy and he was backed by the governors.
Churchdown School Academy was invited to comment on the its uniform policy, but declined.
Mr Belli made national headlines earlier this year after he was offered the job at Corpus Christi Roman Catholic High School in Cardiff.
A welcome message by Mr Belli on the school’s website said everyone in the Churchdown community is encouraged to live their life by three values.
These are a relentless focus on high standards, a belief that there are no excuses or barriers to learning or achievement and that pupils should take pride in themselves and to always be considerate of others.