QE Boys Hair policy

[rhubarbmum]

Is it true that you have to cut your hair short at QE Boys. I have heard from a number of reliable sources that this is true - short back and sides. This would be a reason for me not to apply for my son. The school uniform policy implies that this is indeed true. I can't believe it though. Anyone?

As it's published on the website it's probably true, but you could email to check. If this is a deal breaker for you, better to find out early and focus efforts on finding a school you like better.

I can imagine it's true. DSs school specifies off the collar and out of their eyes, nothing shorter than no.2 and nothing "ostentatious"

If it is on the website then it will be true, the only question mark being how strictly it is enforced. Can you go and watch the gates at kicking out time and see what they look like?

My ds is in yr7. The rules regarding hair are similiar to many boys only or grammar schools. My husband teaches down the road from QE at a boys comprehensive, the regulations are no different. The difference comes with the enforcement of the rules. QE will not accept a boy in school with a style that deviates
from their stated guidelines.

If this is a dealbreaker for you, I suspect QE is not the school for you. It is a traditional, formal grammar and this comes accross in the everyday life of the school.

I didn't realise schools allowed long hair on boys? Every school my children have ever been at has had this same rule.

I would be surprised if a state school could punish a child for having long hair provided that it is tied back. What would QE do if a sikh boy applied and got a place?

If you’re talking about QE Boys Barnet, arguably the best state school in the nation (and it’s free), a school many parents would give an arm and a leg to have their boy(s) educated there, then please do NOT send your son there if it’s down to haircut styles that’s of more importance to you than a first-class education. QE Boys don’t get to its present status without a decent set of Rules & Regulations governing discipline. The fish market is the alternative to QE Boys for those who don’t believe in Rules & Regulations and/or a regimented Uniform Policy.

I agree it would have to be wavered on religious grounds for some. DCs school is pretty strict (but co-ed) just makes everyone with long hair tie it back for "practical" subjects. It has rules about extreme colour and hairstyles (so no mohicans, dreadlocks or "unnatural" colour).

What would QE do if a sikh boy applied and got a place?

DSs school allows for exceptions to the uniform policy to be granted on religious grounds. It's not difficult.

Our school has a catch all at the end of the uniform policy saying that variations can be agreed for well defined religious regions and tells parents which member of the SMT to contact to arrange that.

It sounds as though a co-ed state school is more likely to be acceptable to you. DS has had long hair since he was 12, and his schools have never had any rule forbidding it, he just had to follow the same rules as girls with long hair.

On a broader note, it sounds as though you feel schools should not be prescriptive about things that have no direct impact on learning or behaviour. If this specific rule is a problem, it's very likely that a school that has this rule will also have a lot of others that you would also find pointless.

That's not meant to sound snarky - it's how I feel about things too. But it did mean we had to make efforts to find a school where DS could get a "first-class education" in an environment where there was an appropriate level of discipline, but which did not think a "regimented uniform policy" was the only way to achieve that.

They do exist, but I know some places have better options than others on that score.

QE boys is so hard to get into, many people would shave their heads or dye their hair pink if that was what it took to get in

A strange OP. No school is a perfect fit, you have to compromise on something. I'm not sure that hair cuts would be a deal-breaker for me.

To be fair, if this is the OP's eldest DC she may not have any idea of the nightmare that is applying for secondary schools in North London.
(Shudders at the memory and reflects that university application is MUCH less stressful).

DCs school has no uniform rules on hair : its a comp
but ALL long hair must be neatly tied back for science and PE and boys with long hair have been known to have ribbons put in by teachers.

Totally support smart appearance rules in school

yes, my ds is at a mixed state comp school (church admittedly). If their hair goes beyond regulation, even if it's simply in a fusey - longer on top, they are sent to the barbers. If they refuse they are suspended.

It is scarily strict.

It also has results which rival the grammars. You pays your money (or not, if it's state) and you make your choices.

The fish market is the alternative to QE Boys for those who don't believe is rules and regulations.

What does this mean?

in

I agree broadly with Peterenas. If you think hair length is more important than a first class education then send your son to the local comp. It's a question of priorities and you might find that later on your son will hate you because you put his education beneath your principles.

FWIW I would expect any school I seriously considered for either of my children to have rules like those at QE - if they didn't have them I wouldn't send my DC there.

I'd second what MumInScotland said. I don't know the school you're talking about at all, but it's unlikely that this will be the only very prescriptive rule it has. Rules that have nothing to do with learning or behaviour make me cross, and I'm confident that my children are receiving an excellent education at schools that don't have such rules.

I appreciate that other people take very different views, which is obviously fine.

Gosh, it's only hair, Windymill, you really wouldn't send your offspring to a school that didn't have daft hair rules? Really?
I think schools should celebrate individuality and creativity and stifling freedom over personal appearance sounds so suffocating and stuff. It wouldn't be the school for my DCs either, OP and they don't have particularly long hair.

"And stuff", apologies, I don't know how I managed to slip that in

QE boys is very well known, as are its rules and ethos.
It is usually in the top 3 state schools in the country and is run along the lines of private school/grammar school/boot camp.
It is extremely hard to get into, and they do have a somewhat dubious attitude to pupils who don't get all A/A* at GCSE, however, parents know all this and all is made very clear during the HT's talk on open evenings.
I would think it very unlikely that anyone who had even the tiniest doubt about the rules/expectations would have the slightest chance of getting in.

I would echo what 3littlefrogs and peteneras have said - it is an absolutely brilliant school, with regulations (shock horror) which help it achieve the level of success it has, and if hair length is a deal breaker, I would suggest looking at comps, or other grammars like Latymer.