NOT since the middle ages has there been such a witch hunt for a redhead.

A 17-year-old, who was about to sit her senior exams, has been banned from school because her hair is too ginger.

Emily Reay has naturally auburn hair, and toldThe Mirror she has had the same colour for three years.

But after returning from the Easter school holiday break, teachers at Trinity School in Carlisle, UK, banned her from attending classes again until she had a “more appropriate” hair colour.

“I’ve had the same colour for the past three years, and nobody at school has commented on it,” she told The Mirror.

“Everyone knows me as that ‘young ginger singer’.

“If I had to dye my hair brown, I would lose that.”

The budding musician toldtelegraph.co.uk the school ban made her cry.

“I was very angry at first, and then burst into tears,” she said.

Emily offered to pin her hair up if teachers were concerned about the colour, but the offer was rejected.

Emily said her colour had been a “bone of contention” since the start of the school year, but teachers had let her get away with it.

“The laughable thing is my hair was brighter than this on prom night, and I won best hairstyle award.”

Her mother Julie, was equally furious about the ban telling telegraph.co.uk: “The school’s uniform policy clearly states no unnatural hair colours, like blue or green”.

“Is ginger not a natural hair colour?”

Facts about red hair

- Red hair is the rarest colour in the human race with only 2 per cent of the population fortunate enough to be blessed with this glorious hue.

- In fact, they are so rare, mapping the gene that causes red hair reveals a lot about population movement across Europe.

- Red hair and associated freckles are caused by a variation in the MC1R gene.

- Research suggests redheads have a remarkable capacity to produce higher levels of vitamin D from less sunlight.

- They feel pain differently (ie: they are tougher than you) and need more anaesthesia to knock them out on the operating table.

- The variation in pain sensation could also account for their ability to chow down on spicy hot food.

- Redheads are also fabulous in business. University of Tennessee and Dalton State College study found redheads were four times more likely to be CEOs than other hair colours.

- Throughout the ages, gingers have been victims of horrific social outcast as a result of their luxurious, wild manes.

- In the 15th century, they were deemed to be witches and burnt at the stake. Around 45,000 were tortured and murdered.

- In dating, while some research has suggested redheads were less likely to be approached for mating due to hair colour, Elevated Today suggests it might actually be a good idea to marry a redhead because they are genetically superior.

- The article cited research in France that suggested redheads were approached less in mating not because they were less desirable but because they were highly desirable. It suggested men feared rejection because redheads were seen as more sensuous and promiscuous but also more assertive and temperamental.

- The downside of redhair: A higher risk of skin cancer and Parkinson’s disease.

*Note: The author of this article admits she is completely biased because of her red hair.