by Rachel Hovenden

rhovenden@thekmgroup.co.uk

Two girls were sent home from school with just two weeks to go until they finish their GCSE exams - all because they dyed their hair.

Lauren Rogers and Kate Foster, both 16, were sent home from Thamesview School - Lauren for dying pink strands in her hair, and Kate for dying her hair magenta.

The school, which got a good with outstanding features in its Ofsted in October last year, has also banned youngsters from having mobile phones out in classrooms including during their breaks and lunch hours.

Pupils may use them in a central hall called The Heart, and outside the building in Thong Lane, Gravesend.

Rhiannon Hughes, the school’s head teacher, said: "The parents sign up to the school’s policies about students’ appearance.

"They [the girls] are in year 11. They know what the rules are.

"It doesn’t change while they are taking exams.

"Our rule is that hair colour should be a natural colour and pink is not natural."

She added that Lauren had come into school two weeks ago on the day of the prom with pink strands in her hair.

She told Lauren to go and see the trainee hairdressers at the school to see if they could clip it back and cover the colour up.

They managed to do so, and she went to the prom.

But Mrs Hughes said that since then the hair dye in Lauren’s hair had spread.

Lauren’s mother, who works for a London recruitment consultants, Sharon Dalton, 41, said: "She’s got three or four exams left and she has been told she can’t go back to school until it’s washed out.

"The funny thing about it is that there are double standards.

"The headmistress gave her permission to dye her hair in red for her school prom.

"And quite a few children in the lower years have their hair dyed."

Mrs Hughes said: "Everywhere has a uniform.

"If people go for job interviews they will be expected to dress a certain way.

"If you work at M&S or the police you have a unform."