I AM concerned that Christopher Garritt has been excluded from Derby High School, Radcliffe Road, Bury, simply for having a mohican-style haircut (April 17). The headteacher Alyson Byrne regards all "extreme haircuts" as "not acceptable".
Certainly the physicist Albert Einstein had an extreme hairstyle, as did many great artists, philosophers and scientists, including Rene Descartes, Bertrand Russell, Jean Arthur Rimbau, Justus von Liebig, Thomas Edison (perhaps the school will stop using lightbulbs!) and David Livingstone.
I fail to see how anybody can punish a child for cutting his hair mohican-style, just as harshly as they would punish a child for using a knife. In my experience, people treated with injustice tend to become more rebellious.
Finally, the school may have broken Christopher Garritt's "freedom of expression" under Article 10/1 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and also violated Article 3 by subjecting him to "degrading treatment".
Maybe a human rights solicitor will take up Christopher's case on a "no win no fee" basis, if he cannot get legal aid. It would be impossible for the school to prove mens rea (wrongful or criminal intent) when Christopher had his hair cut as a favour to his sister.
Richard J Hudson
Kent Court
Bolton
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