A MUM has labelled her daughter’s school "pathetic" after the teenager was ordered to remove false eyelashes.

Angela Jackson is taking a stand against Royal Wootton Bassett Academy after she says her daughter was left in tears when a member of staff stood over her in the toilets until she took off the accessories.

Chelsea Silk, 14, returned to school last week still wearing the lashes even though she faced being put in isolation.

Angela, who has two other children at the same school and a son who left Year 11 last year, said: “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.

“I make a stand against the schools pathetic policy in relation to this and stand alongside all of the female students of Royal Wootton Bassett Academy that wish to wear false eyelashes to enhance their natural attributes and boost their self-esteem.

“The lashes do not impede my child’s ability to read, write or learn and I find it absolutely pathetic that the school has chosen the path of sanction which leads to exclusion above the right for my child to be in school being educated over a set of false eyelashes.”

She was contacted by the school last Wednesday and told false eyelashes were against the uniform rules.

She later spoke to her daughter on the phone and found she was in tears.

She 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 in to school wearing the eye ashes. 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.

“I don’t see how wearing false eyelashes impacts on 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 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.

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.

"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."