PUPILS at a secondary school are being isolated from mainstream classes if they don’t abide by a tough new dress code.

The rules at Richard Rose Central Academy in Carlisle include those on what kinds of haircuts are acceptable for students to have.

And it appears that the new policy has not been rolled out without debate.

One mum says she has pulled her son out of the city school after becoming angry that he was removed from a class because some of his hair was deemed too short.

Andrea Kerr, of Harraby, claims 12-year-old- Robbie was placed on “internal exclusion”.

She said: “Two teachers said his hair was too short. I got a text from the school saying Robbie had been referred to internal

exclusion for an unsuitable haircut.

“I called the school about three times, I just got the answering machine, I went down.

“The school said he would have to stay in internal exclusion until it grows back, that could be weeks.

“I think it is outrageous. How does a haircut affect his learning?

“I think the rules are daft. They’re too strict. Fair enough the uniform; they should be the same so they’re not open to bullying. I have always made sure he has the right uniform, from the uniform shop.”

Rules at Richard Rose state that no extreme hairstyles are acceptable, such as, tramlines and unnatural colours of hair dye and only grade two and above short hair is allowed.

The youngster’s mum added: “Last year he had the comb-over style with the sides shaved and that was fine.

“He went back to school at the beginning of September with this cut and it has taken until now for any action to be taken.

“He is getting punished for a haircut that I gave him the money for.

“I’m not going to have my son have long hair, I want him to look tidy, so he will end up being in isolation all the time.

“I have told the school I’m taking him out and I have phoned Cumbria County Council to send him to another school.”

A spokesman for the academy said: “While we would never comment on individual cases. At Central Academy we are clear about our high expectations for students, whether that is in their attitudes towards learning or their behaviour and dress.

“This academic year, we introduced a new behaviour and uniform policy which has been widely communicated to students and their families and which the vast majority have supported.

“Where students do not adhere to our policy, they are briefly withdrawn from mainstream lessons in order to maintain the highest standards of learning across the rest of the academy.

“However, no student is ever excluded because of this.”