Schoolgirl punished after shaving head for charity

A 14-year-old student has been punished by her school for shaving off her hair for charity.

Niamh Baldwin was reportedly put into isolation when she returned to her UK school after the Christmas holidays with a shaved head.

Teachers at Mounts Bay Academy in Penzance, Cornwall instructed the teenager to wear a headscarf until her hair grows to a less “extreme” length.

Baldwin donated her long blonde hair to the Little Princess Trust, an organisation that makes wigs for children who have lost their hair as a result of cancer.

“Niamh has always had outstanding reports and feedback from all her teachers and everyone I know and she meets always say she is a ... polite and lovely girl! 

“This doesn't change because of a hair style and to me it is discrimination.”

“All students know ... the consequence is to complete school work in the inclusion room until the hair grows so that it is no longer extreme.”

Davey also argues Baldwin’s family had ample opportunity to inform the school of her intention to shave her head.

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Speaking to the BBC, vice principal Les Hall said Niamh was not excluded from her peers, but rather removed "for a short time".

Hall also described the student’s appearance as "upsetting and confusing to a number of students and staff", saying the reason for the haircut wasn’t clear at the time.

Earlier this week, Niamh shared a photo of her shaved head on Facebook, writing, “My hair does not define who I am as a person.”

The image has received numerous messages of support from fellow Facebook users praising her act of charity.