More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
A teenage girl wanting to dye her hair in memory of her father has been stopped from doing so by her school.
Freya Peachey, from Broomfield in Herne Bay, had wanted to change the colour of her locks in November as part of her bid to raise more than £500 for Pancreatic Cancer UK.
Her father, former Vivid bouncer Mike, died from the disease last November - just three months after his diagnosis - at the age of 47.
But teachers from Herne Bay High have told the 17-year-old she would be contravening the sixth-form code of conduct.
Freya said: “I was really upset because this is important to me.
“I emailed my head of sixth form, and she said I couldn’t do it. There are other people who have dyed hair, but the school doesn’t do anything about it.”
Herne Bay High’s rules stipulate that pupils in Years 12 and 13 must “avoid extreme hair styles and hair colour must be within a natural range”.
But Freya has since launched a petition, now signed by more than 120 people, urging the school to rethink.
She added: “I want other people to know the symptoms so they don’t have to go through what I went through last year.
“Because of this disease my dad won’t be able to walk me down the aisle, meet his grandchildren, see me graduate from university, start my career, or see me live my life in general. And that isn’t okay.”
Herne Bay High principal Jon Boyes maintains that Freya’s hopes of dyeing her hair purple for the whole of November would be unacceptable.
However, he insists that the school would support her if she chose to raise the money in an other way.
He also says Freya “was very understanding” that dyeing her hair could set a precedent.
“The school will always look to support any student or cause that we feel is appropriate and in this particular case we would love to help Freya raise money,” Mr Boyes added.
“As such, I can suggest that next time we hold a non-uniform day the sixth form can come in dressed in purple and all funds raised by Freya’s year group can be donated to pancreatic cancer research.
“This would be a high-profile event that would really raise the issues with the wider school.”
To visit Freya’s petition, click here or click here to support her fundraiser.
