A TEENAGER has been barred from the classroom by education chiefs because of a 'tribal' pattern he had shaved into his hair

A TEENAGER has been barred from the classroom by education chiefs because of a 'tribal' pattern he had shaved into his hair.Corrie Clarke, of Dunster Crescent, Weston, says he was given an ultimatum by Wyvern Community School officials to get rid of the symbol or be excluded from normal lessons until it had grown out.The 14-year-old, pictured right, was told his hairstyle would disturb other pupils and it had to go.The school is standing by its decision saying it has a policy of not allowing students to have 'extreme' hairstyles.His mother, Adele Lines, aged 33, has condemned the move as 'ridiculous'. She fears the two weeks her son will miss off school waiting for his hair to grow could damage his chances of passing his GCSEs which he will take next summer.Corrie had the 'tribal' design cut into the side of his head while on a trip to Bristol to see his father.When he arrived at the school in Marchfields Way on April 21 he was told by the deputy head to either shave the swirling pattern out of his hair or face being excluded from class.Corrie said: "I do not understand it. The pattern is a tribal design, like a Gaelic symbol. It is just a fashion thing and it does not have any other meaning. Girls in the school seem to be allowed to dye their hair any colour, so what is the difference?"Miss Lines claims education officials banned Corrie from the 920-pupil school until the symbol was gone.But Wyvern headteacher Andy Russell said the Year 11 pupil was told he would be taken out of normal lessons and taught separately in the school's exclusion unit.The mother-of-three said: "The headteacher told me there was not a child within a 30-mile radius with a pattern shaved into their hair."He told me if Corrie's symbol was allowed, what was to stop pupils coming in with marihuana leaves or even genitalia shapes shaved into their hair."This is ridiculous. The style is tidy, not dyed in a bright colour and does not interfere with his school work."Headteacher Andy Russell said "We do not allow extremes of hair style which includes designs or symbols cut into students' hair. "Corrie knows this as he did the same thing last autumn. He was told to tone it down then and he did. Students who dye their hair are asked to tone the colour down."This is a standard request we make to students, so it was a surprise and disappointment when he came in with this symbol."My deputy made it clear he would have to shave it out or go into the internal exclusion room. We give students a choice and hope they behave in a mature way."The decision to keep him at home was his mother's. This is an unauthorised absence and our educational welfare officer will chase it up.