Tweet
17 June 2011
Last updated at 07:54 ET
A London school's ban of the cornrows hairstyle resulted in "unlawful, indirect racial discrimination", the High Court has ruled.
Mr Justice Collins said the ban by St Gregory's Catholic Science College in Harrow was not unlawful in itself, but should have taken into account individual pupils' family traditions.
A 13-year-old boy, "SG", was refused a place because of the hairstyle.
The school said its hair policy was critical in tackling gang culture.
SG's African-Caribbean family claimed the style was of importance to his cultural identity.
He was refused entry to St Gregory's as an 11-year-old on his first day in 2009 because he had the cornrows style - with hair braided, close along the scalp.
He was forced to attend another school. He does not wish to return to St Gregory's despite the outcome of the case.
David Beckham In a statement read out to the High Court at an earlier hearing, SG said: "When I saw my idol, David Beckham, cornrow his hair, it showed me that he appreciated African hair styling, and that we are all the same underneath it all."
Mr Justice Collins, sitting in London, ruled that the hair policy was not unlawful in itself, "but if it is applied without any possibility of exception" such as in the case of SG, "then it is unlawful".
The judge said in future the school authorities must consider allowing other boys to wear cornrows if it was "a genuine family tradition based on cultural and social reasons".
Following the hearing, SG's solicitor, Angela Jackman said: "This is an important decision.
"It makes clear that non-religious cultural and family practices associated with a particular race fall within the protection of equalities legislation."
At an earlier hearing, head teacher Andrew Prindiville said in a statement the school's policy on uniform and hair "plays a critical role in ensuring that the culture associated with gangs of boys in particular - eg haircuts, bandanas, jewellery, hats, hoodies, etc - has no place in our school".
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed | Amazon Plugin | Settlement Statement | WordPress Tutorials
Mr Justice Collins said the ban by St Gregory's Catholic Science College in Harrow was not unlawful in itself, but should have taken into account individual pupils' family traditions.
A 13-year-old boy, "SG", was refused a place because of the hairstyle.
The school said its hair policy was critical in tackling gang culture.
SG's African-Caribbean family claimed the style was of importance to his cultural identity.
He was refused entry to St Gregory's as an 11-year-old on his first day in 2009 because he had the cornrows style - with hair braided, close along the scalp.
He was forced to attend another school. He does not wish to return to St Gregory's despite the outcome of the case.
David Beckham In a statement read out to the High Court at an earlier hearing, SG said: "When I saw my idol, David Beckham, cornrow his hair, it showed me that he appreciated African hair styling, and that we are all the same underneath it all."
Mr Justice Collins, sitting in London, ruled that the hair policy was not unlawful in itself, "but if it is applied without any possibility of exception" such as in the case of SG, "then it is unlawful".
The judge said in future the school authorities must consider allowing other boys to wear cornrows if it was "a genuine family tradition based on cultural and social reasons".
Following the hearing, SG's solicitor, Angela Jackman said: "This is an important decision.
"It makes clear that non-religious cultural and family practices associated with a particular race fall within the protection of equalities legislation."
At an earlier hearing, head teacher Andrew Prindiville said in a statement the school's policy on uniform and hair "plays a critical role in ensuring that the culture associated with gangs of boys in particular - eg haircuts, bandanas, jewellery, hats, hoodies, etc - has no place in our school".
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed | Amazon Plugin | Settlement Statement | WordPress Tutorials