Falling foul of school haircut rules runs in family

Ethan Hayman, 13, copying his father Rafe's pose for the Daily News in 1975, when he was sent home to get his hair cut. Picture: Jacques Naude

Ethan Hayman, 13, copying his father Rafe's pose for the Daily News in 1975, when he was sent home to get his hair cut. Picture: Jacques Naude

Published Jul 20, 2016

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Durban - A 13-year-old Glenwood High School pupil was sent home on Tuesday and told to fix his haircut - 41 years after his father was sent packing from school for a similar offence.

It seems the steps coiffed into the sides of Ethan Hayman’s hair were a step too far for the school authorities.

His father, Rafe, made headlines in the Daily News on October 7, 1975, after he was sent home from Keitsleigh School, also in Durban, because his hair was too long. He was 7 years old at the time.

Hayman, like his stepfather did 41 years ago, could not understand the school fuss.

“Ethan had his hair cut on Sunday at a reputable barber. When he called me at 7am to fetch him from school, I was fuming,” he said.

“When I walked into the school, I was so angry and my son saw this and just said, Dad let’s go’. I needed to calm down.

“I had a rant on Facebook and I’m also sending an e-mail to the school,” said Hayman, who is a Glenwood old boy.

Ethan said he had just arrived at school on Tuesday and had been chatting to friends when his Grade 8 form head told him to go to his office.

“He told me to get my bags ready and to call my dad. At his office, he said I needed to fix the steps on the side and get a haircut,” Ethan recalled.

His father is removing him from school and has no intention of getting Ethan’s hair cut.

“The prefects said nothing to Ethan on Monday,” he said.

“As in my newspaper article,” he said referring to the Daily News’s 1975 report, “The length of your hair does not affect your learning”, read his Facebook post.

Tony Pinheiro, Glenwood High School acting headmaster, said he personally had not seen Ethan. He also said the grade head was an experienced grade controller and it was his view the boy’s hair did not conform with the code of conduct.

“Before starting at Glenwood both the boy and the parent signed an acceptance of the code of conduct.

“His father was contacted so that he could resolve it as quickly as possible and get the boy back into class as soon as it was cut,” Pinheiro said.

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