Mum’s anger after daughter, 14, told by school to remove fake eyelashes or face isolation

The schoolgirl said she was left in tears when a member of staff stood over her in the toilets until she took off the lashes
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

A mum has sparked a backlash after complaining that her teen daughter was disciplined for breaching school rules - by wearing fake eyelashes.

Angela Jackson is taking a stand against an academy after Chelsea Silk, 14, was told she faces being put in isolation.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

We want to hear from you: let us know what you think about this story and be part of the debate in our comments section below

Chelsea Silk says she was left in tears when a member of staff stood over her in the toilets until she took off the lashes (SWNS)Chelsea Silk says she was left in tears when a member of staff stood over her in the toilets until she took off the lashes (SWNS)
Chelsea Silk says she was left in tears when a member of staff stood over her in the toilets until she took off the lashes (SWNS)

Chelsea says she was left in tears when a member of staff stood over her in the toilets until she took off the lashes.

Angela was contacted by the Royal Wootton Bassett Academy last Wednesday and told false eyelashes were against the uniform rules.

Read More
Mum-of-six loses battle with cancer after she was re-diagnosed with disease just...

Chelsea has since been placed in isolation every day that she has turned up to school wearing the eyelashes.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Angela is adamant that she won't back down but she has faced a backlash herself - with hundreds of people making online comments saying the school is in the right.

‘I will not back down on this’

Angela, a kennel assistant and volunteer for dog rescue charities, said: "I went in to pick her up and she was very upset because someone stood over at the basin until she took them off.

"I will not back down on this and she will keep going into school wearing the eyelashes. It means that she will be in the isolation unit.

"She has never been in there before for anything and has never had a detention.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"I don't see how wearing false eyelashes impacts her school work.

''I took photographs of her wearing one set of false lashes like she does for school and another of her wearing two.

"I accept that wearing two sets would be inappropriate but I can't see that the one set can cause any problems."

Angela's protest has sparked backlash on social media, with hundreds of people agreeing with the school's strict uniform policy.

Social media backlash

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

One said: "I am sure you can live without false eyelashes for a few hours."

A second said: "Always believed in uniform. Discipline is a key part of education.

"It doesn't set a good example going against policy - it makes a child spoiled.

"You don't go to a job wearing something that is unnecessary. School is for learning, it's not a fashion parade.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"People should encourage their children to follow rules, not to be disobedient and break them."

‘Most of the girls wear false eyelashes’

Angela said unless the school rules are reworded specifically to ban the wearing of eyelashes - Chelsea will continue to wear them.

Angela, who has two other children at the same school and a son who left Year 11 last year, added: "I have never had any complaints about Chelsea over anything else.

"Most of the girls in her year wear false eyelashes. She has been told before not to wear them but I totally disagree they are a health hazard.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Angela is now worried that Chelsea may be prevented from going on a trip to Swanage as part of her GCSE coursework.

She is also concerned that while her daughter is in isolation she is missing out on practical work in preparation for next year's GCSE exams.

What the school said

The school's uniform policy says that make-up should be kept to a minimum and only neutral tones used. It also says no nail varnish, gel nails or artificial nails may be worn. But on the school's website false lashes are not specifically mentioned.

Deputy head Mari Roberts said: "The school is aware that the mother does not support us right now, but we have spent time working with her and her daughter to de-escalate the situation.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"The school adopts an empathetic inclusive approach to individual student needs as is the case in this instance. Our Behaviour for Learning school system was in place pre-Covid and we have not changed any of the high expectations we have of our students.

"We provide stability and consistency for our students and families in a time of Covid instability.

"The majority of our parent body support us, making us an extremely popular school."

A message from the editor:

Thank you for reading. NationalWorld is a new national news brand, produced by a team of journalists, editors, video producers and designers who live and work across the UK. Find out more about who’s who in the team, and our editorial values. We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and keep the conversation going.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.