A schoolboy was banned from the classroom after shaving his head for charity.
Jackson Shallcross-Platt received more than £650 in sponsorship for Cancer Research UK by buzzing off his locks on Tuesday.
But when he arrived at Chailey School the next day, the 15-year-old was punished by being sent to work alone.
He decided to raise money for the charity having had three grandparents suffer from the disease.
Chailey headteacher Lesley Young insisted yesterday (March 21) the punishment was not for Jackson shaving his head but for him being rude when she spoke to him about the stunt.
But Jackson’s mum, Liz Platt, said her son should have been praised for his charity effort.
She said: “I was very cross. Jessie J did the same thing for Comic Relief live on TV.
"There are kids doing all sorts of things nowadays so they should be proud of him.”
Jackson said: “I did not want to cause a fuss. I knew by showing up it would cause a stir but that was the whole point – to raise awareness.”
Mrs Young said she had been in discussions with Jackson about the fundraising effort but had expressed worries about it happening in the run-up to exams.
Supporting charity
She added: “I have made it very clear from the outset that I totally supported this charity.
"We always publicise this through assemblies so that everyone is aware of the context of the fundraising, details of the charity and what we are seeking to achieve and to avoid any misinterpretation by members of the school community who are closely affected by a particular condition.
“Some distress was caused yesterday when he arrived at school as his planned action was unknown by many staff and students.
"In discussion about this he was, regrettably, very rude and it was for this reason that I placed him to work on his own.”
Twitter campaign
The decision led to an outcry from students past and present, as well as from parents, with people using the hashtag #freejackson on Twitter.
But Jackson was allowed back into classes yesterday after Mrs Young said the two met and he “apologised for his rudeness”.
Lynn Daly for Cancer Research UK said: “I’m sorry to hear Jackson has found himself in trouble over this but we are very grateful for the money he has raised and can assure him every penny of it will go towards helping us beat cancer sooner.”
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