School punishes girl, 14, for shaving head for charity

A schoolgirl has been put in isolation after shaving her head to donate her hair to a cancer charity.

Niamh Baldwin, 14, was punished by Mounts Bay Academy in Cornwall, UK after giving up her hair to the Little Princess Trust who make wigs out of human hair for children following cancer treatment.

But after returning to school following the Christmas holidays she was told she would be removed from classes and forced to wear a headscarf until her hair grew back to a suitable length, Cornwall Live reported.

Her outraged mother, Anneka Baldwin, 32, took to Facebook on January 5 to voice her anger of the decision and back her "courageous" daughter.

"Niamh has always had outstanding reports and feedback from all her teachers and everyone I know she meets always say she is an amazingly polite and lovely girl!," she wrote.

"This doesn't change because of a hairstyle and to me it is discrimination!"

However the school defended its decision and reiterated the rules were clearly outlined for all students with regards to hair length.

"All students know this is the school policy and they also know that the consequence is to complete school work in the inclusion room until the hair grows so that it is no longer extreme," Principal Sara Davey said.

"If Niamh had asked the school about shaving her hair for charity then this would have been pointed out and an alternative fundraising idea would have been suggested."

Ms Davey revealed that Niamh has been able to access her classes via digital technology and the school will discuss with her mother the best solution to return her to the classroom as soon as possible.

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"The family had every opportunity to contact the school about their actions before Niamh shaved her hair for charity but they for some reason did not do this," she added.

Niamh shared an image of her shaved head to Facebook captioned: "My hair does not define who I am as a person."