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Original poster

Pupils being told long hair must be tied back - reasonable or not?

62 replies

pannetone · 05/03/2018 20:58

Maybe I’m getting this our of proportion (DH thinks so!) but I’m not happy with the rule the school ( secondary ) has just introduced that long hair must be tied back. This applies to boys and girls - there are a few boys with long-ish hair. But the new rule proportionally affects more girls- including my DD.

The rule was that long hair had to be tied back for safety or hygiene reasons eg in DT or Food Tech. I can’t think of a reason why long hair needs to be tied back all the time. If it’s that the school think it looks ‘smarter’, I’m not happy that it is primarily a judgement on how girls should look.

OP posts:
DrinkFeckArseGirls · 05/03/2018 22:19

Plus loose hair can get in the way of school work - our school asks for hair off the face so that children can see clearly.

DrinkFeckArseGirls · 05/03/2018 22:16

Lice (bleurgh), sticky hair around the face from eating lunch, not to mention the unbelievable knots. Happy to have the latter two at the weekends but not in the school week.

Hersetta427 · 05/03/2018 22:11

Sounds perfectly normal to me. Dd's primary school has this rule and so does the secondary school she will start in September.

I can't really understand why it would seem unreasonable to anyone.

windchimesabotage · 05/03/2018 22:09

I think its pretty good that the school allows boys to have long hair. At least they arent forcing people to cit their hair off like they would try and do at my old school!!
Dont really care about the hair tied back thing because its not a permanent or damaging thing is it? I get more pissed off about people being being forced to wear trousers or skirts tbh or being forced to wear a certain cut or brand.

I think general rules about colour of things and having neat and tidy hair are okay.

Original poster
pannetone · 05/03/2018 22:06

OK - think that is unanimous then and I accept IABVU Grin! Seems quite a usual rule - just not in our local schools where full-flowing hair is the norm!

OP posts:
AtiaoftheJulii · 05/03/2018 22:04

Tbh it still surprises me to see pretty much all the girls at my kids' schools wandering around with hair wafting everywhere! When I was at school (leans on cane and wags wizened finger) long hair always had to be tied up. I wouldn't be bothered, and I can't see it as a sexism issue if the boys are allowed long hair too.

RedSkyAtNight · 05/03/2018 21:45

If you are arguing this is unfair.. what about the "clean shaven" rule that most schools seem to have?? Is that discriminatory towards boys?

RedSkyAtNight · 05/03/2018 21:43

I imagine the tied back rule is to stop both hair flicking, hair over face and time wasting while pushing hair off face. We have same rule here and DD and her friends constantly seem to be working out how much hair has to be tied back for them to get away with it!!

Wh0KnowsWhereTheT1meG0es · 05/03/2018 21:43

I can't think of a single good reason for wearing it down in a school environment to be honest.

Petalbird · 05/03/2018 21:34

Considering how many 6 formers can't remember hair ties for science, I'm not surprised that our school has a blanket rule for lower years that long hair must be tied or at least 10mins of each practical lesson would be wasted

DilysMoon · 05/03/2018 21:30

Completely reasonable, our primary has the same rule for the purpose of reducing nit transfer. I insist dd has her hair tied up for preschool for this reason. DNiece caught nits for the first time in high school, no hair rules there and long hair swishing about all over. Seems like a good rule to me.

Caulk · 05/03/2018 21:30

You’d be surprised how my time is wasted by having to tell kids to stop playing with their hair during lesson time.

PerspicaciaTick · 05/03/2018 21:28

DD's all girls school asks only that hair is tied back for science, D&T and PE.

Alabama3 · 05/03/2018 21:27

things in life affect different sexes no matter how much we dont want them to

where my friend works, staff can have a free breakfast between 8-830 - great you think, but who are the part time staff? who are the staff that have to get their children to school before they can come to work? mainly women - so here we have women being discriminated because they work part time?

Anasnake · 05/03/2018 21:27

You're being ridiculous

Alabama3 · 05/03/2018 21:25

what dont you like about it?

both my DS;s have long hair, and have to tie back for various activities

WanderingTrolley1 · 05/03/2018 21:24

Entirely reasonable.

NotAnotherJaffaCake · 05/03/2018 21:18

Don’t be ridiculous, it’s a health and safety issue. Google scalp degloving and then tell me they are being unreasonable. Easily possible with equipment found in any secondary school.

PandaPieForTea · 05/03/2018 21:17

DD’s primary school doesn’t have this rule and it frustrates me that they don’t. I don’t want DD to get nuts, but I appear to be alone in this.

Haffdonga · 05/03/2018 21:13

YABR.

(ridiculous)

BackforGood · 05/03/2018 21:12

Very sensible rule. I'm more surprised it isn't more widely enforced, tbh.

iklboo · 05/03/2018 21:11

You don't want long hair floating around near a Bunsen burner. It has nothing to do with policing how girls should look. Especially if it applies to boys as well. The fact that there aren't many boys with long hair is irrelevant.

Gileswithachainsaw · 05/03/2018 21:11

Makes sense to me

Head lice
Bunsen burners
Getting in face
"Big styles" can obstruct views if sat behind
Safer in pe

BarbarianMum · 05/03/2018 21:10

Do you object to the rules on jewellery on the basis they mainly affect girls too? Contrary to popular opinion, girls don't have to have long hair and boys don't have to have short hair. These are choices that they make.

MigGril · 05/03/2018 21:09

Don't see a problem with this rule. There are so many classes in high school where they need to have long hair tied back. It probably makes sense just to make it a blanket rule.