Mum takes daughter out of GCSE exam over an earring

[CatherineHMumsnet]

We've been asked to comment on a story in Leeds today - and wondered what Mumsnetters think of this news story

Am I allowed to judge and make assumptions on this family based on the girl's name? .

If it was a theory exam, it's difficult to say which side has been more infantile. Schools set themselves up for behavioural problems by issuing blanket bans on comparatively harmless 'transgressions', in other words, failing to distinguish between wearing a single earring and doing something which is really clearly wrong, such as bullying or cheating. If children are taught that all these things are wrong, they cannot distinguish between them.

If it was a practical exam the school was entirely reasonable to ask for all jewellery to be removed.

But it is clearly the mother who is endangering her daughter's career by letting her miss an important (!) exam for such a trifling reason.

So the question is which was more important - the earring or the exam??

Years to come, job interview. "So Dakota, according to your CV you don't have any GCSE's?", "No Mr Bloggs, but I do have number of interesting piercings if you'd like to see them???"

I bet Dakota was going to stuff the exam as she hadn't worked hard enough, and this provided the perfect excuse not to do the exam and blame someone else, but then I'm a cynical git.

The mother and daughter are both barking mad. Let's hope Dakota doesn't get a job where there is a uniform or a need for protective clothing as Mummy might come and take her home if she doesn't like it!

I wondered the same scary.

Child, mother, school not exactly covering themselves with glory, more like a heavy blanket of stupid.

Abdolutely ridiculous, they should all be ashamed of themselves. A ( clearly not very smart ) young person lost out badly.

LOL at lal123

"Years to come, job interview. "So Dakota, according to your CV you don't have any GCSE's?", "No Mr Bloggs, but I do have number of interesting piercings if you'd like to see them???"

Agree with most of what has been said so far.. we don't know the whole back story but the school should have clearer on its policy of what consists of non-uniform (do not agree with the mums arguement on what constitutes the ear)
The mum should have been much firmer with her daughter - its is not the schools fault she did not take the exam and therefore ruin her education. The whole situation also show just how much value the family places on education by giving and taking decision of an earring over an exam.
However what I take great exception to is that the mum is wombling on about her dds 'human rights'. There was a thread about a week ago which was about a smilar 'breech of human rights' someone actually provided a list of what Human Rights are - the right to wear jewellery like this was not one of them.

School is local to me and reaction round here is the same as the majority - silly silly people !

FWIW it is a very good schooland very highly respected round here. Hopefully my DS will be there in 6 years

It's a fair bet that claims about "human rights", uttered by anyone who isn't a specialist barrister, are a sign that you're listening to someone terminally thick. Doubly so when the issue at hand involves a row with a school.

See also: "data protection", "health and safety", "government regulations".

Well Dakota and her mum have now had their 15 minutes of fame.
Next stop Jeremy Kyle.

"Victimised".

Mother should get a grip.

Stupid stupid woman prepared to jeopardise her daughter's education over a silly silly piercing/argument.

"School policy says students can have a small stud in each ear"

Although not actually stated, I would think most would agree that earlobe is meant here.

Are we writing copy for the journalists again?

The mother is an idiot. Human Rights bollocks. I knew it would be a disaster when it first came in. The school is not ruining her child's education, she is doing that all by herself.

notapizza, am v. jealous of you living near Shelley High - presumably somewhere like Denby Dale? Wish I could move back!

Silly, silly girl and even sillier mother. School being a bit petty but mother's clearly been causing problems for ages so someone has clearly Had Enough of the pair of them.

It seems likely to me that this isn't the first time that the 'earring' thing has cropped up with Dakota & the school. The school allow a stud in the ear (lobe), Dakota turns up with her tragus pierced and is told that isn't allowed, says "It's me ear, innit?" and bleats to mother that she's being victimised.

On the day of the Drama exam, it's 'non-uniform' so she puts the earring in, but is told to remove it, presumably because it's Drama & earrings aren't allowed,('Elf & safety)rather than that it's in her tragus. But an argument that's ben rumbling comes to a head because she is once again asked to remove it.

School and parent both at fault here. On balance, probably more so with the parent. If school policy isn't clear, the mum is within her right to be fighting her daughter's corner, but it is extremely excessive to pull a child out of school on these grounds. I can't decide who is more stupid here tbh.

This is why I hate petty uniform rules ...causes endless needless shite

Well I suppose it depends on how the policy is exactly worded - its all about interpretation - if it says you are allowed one stud in each ear lobe - I personally would interpret that as thats it - no other piercings anywhere else clearly the mother would see it differently.

Both the mother and the daughter epitomise the self-centred and shallow approach to life that exists in so many areas of our society today. The reference to their human rights being breached exposes their pathetic little world view, extending about as far as the end of their street, since no-one who had any awareness of the actual abuses of human rights that go on around the world would dare to equate being asked to remove an earring to this.

The mother's role in this was to tell her daughter to take the earring out and get on with the exam, not support Dakota's spoilt teenage brattishness with equally immature behaviour of her own.

But there you go: I'm sure that when Dakota is working out what to do with her life, she will find 'I have my tragus pierced' is a huge asset to her CV.

I retract my carefully thought out post in favour of miasma's actually.

They ARE a pair of twats.

And we think that's the comment we'd like you to sum up our reaction with, please, CatherineHMumsnet [

I'm shuddering at the use of 'human rights'.

To be filed alongside...get me my brief, I know what I'm entitled to and that old chestnut....that's libel that is.