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A furious mum has claimed her teenage daughter was placed in "isolation" by teachers on her first day back at school – after turning up with bright-red hair.

Paula Close’s eldest child, 15-year-old Shannon, dyed her hair a vibrant shade of red during her summer holidays.

But teachers separated GCSE pupil Shannon from her classmates at Bryn Hafren Comprehensive School, Barry, because her red locks were not in line with school uniform policy.

Ms Close, 37, of Barry, said she was shocked with the school’s reaction to her daughter’s hair colour.

“They were asking me to dye it down because it’s too pink,” said the mum-of-three.

“They put my daughter in isolation. They put her in the room on her own and she is to work in that room on her own.

“They said she will stay in isolation until I sort her hair out.”

She added: “It is absolutely ludicrous. They are in the school, so does it really matter? I just think it’s a waste of time and resources putting these kids in rooms on their own when they should be concentrating on the kids who are not in school.”

“Why should the hair colour matter to how they work?”

Ms Close said her daughter spent Wednesday – her first morning back – “in isolation” before she took her out of the school.

She said: “She doesn’t want to go to school now to be honest because she doesn’t want to be put in isolation.

“They don’t seem to understand fashion as well, and peer pressure. They don’t get it, do they?”

Phil Whitcombe, head of Bryn Hafren Comprehensive School, Barry, said Shannon was not on her own when separated from her classmates, but was instead supervised by a teacher.

He said: “What we have is an inclusion room which is supervised. She was in the room with a teacher. Our concern is that she still has her normal work to get on with. I’m sure that would be mum’s concern as well.

Explaining the school’s policy on hair colour, he said: “We have a policy. The mother was issued with a copy of that when the child started at the school. It is quite clear about hair colour. It says hair colour and style must be appropriate for school.”

He added: “This school has just had outstanding examination results at a time when most exam results were slipping. Over 74% of our children got at least five GCSEs. It’s hardly a sign of a school that is getting its priorities wrong.”

Mr Whitcombe said he was expecting Shannon to return to the school on Monday morning with toned-down hair following discussions with her family.