Mother REFUSES to shave off her 14-year-old son’s Ronaldo inspired haircut despite being told by school it’s ‘inappropriate’
- Oasis Academy in Kent told Mandy Woodward her son Alfie has to shave his hair
- The mother from Sheerness said her son’s hair does not violate school policy
- He got the trim on Sunday based on the retired Brazilian striker’s noughties look
A mother has refused to shave off her 14-year-old son’s Ronaldo-inspired haircut after his school deemed it ‘inappropriate’.
Keen footballer Alfie Woodward was inspired by the retired Brazilian striker’s early noughties close-shaved style with a semicircle fringe, and got the trim himself on Sunday.
But when the teenager, who is from Sheerness in north Kent, went to school at Oasis Academy on the Isle of Sheppey on Monday, his mum Mandy Woodward was told it violated their policy and he has to shave it off.
Alfie Woodward, 14, was told by his school he had to shave his head after turning up to Oasis Academy on Monday with an ‘inappropriate’ Ronaldo-style trim
Former Brazilian striker Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima – commonly known as Ronaldo – sported the style during the 2002 World Cup
Mrs Woodward, 39, told Kent Online she doesn’t agree that her son’s hairstyle breaches the school’s rules because ‘it’s not disrupting anyone’s learning’ and fears he might be excluded or put in isolation for it.
She said: ‘The school has phoned and they said that it is inappropriate, and that I need to rectify it. I said ‘Well, it is not in your policy’ because I have looked through their policy and it isn’t in there.’
She added: ‘Obviously, the football is on at the moment. It is like Ronaldo’s haircut. He is a huge football fan.
Ronaldo’s early noughties hairstyle inspired keen footballer Alfie Woodward to get the same trim – but his school, Oasis Academy on the Isle of Sheppey, has slammed it as ‘inappropriate’
‘It is not out of the ordinary. It is not multi-coloured. It is literally a shaved head with a fringe.’
The high school’s hairstyle rules warn that ‘hair must not be dyed in any way other than natural hair colours’, ‘coloured streaks in hair is not permissible’, ‘hair must not be shaved below a 2 grade’ and ‘tracks, tramlines, designs, Mohawks or steps are not allowed’.
Mrs Woodward, an office manager, said school staff demanded her son shaves his fringe off completely – but she is battling against them so he can keep it.
Her son, who plays for local team New Road FC, took a liking to the style rocked by former Barcelona and Real Madrid player Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima – commonly known as Ronaldo – from the 2002 World Cup.
However, the football star, who retired 10 years ago, revealed he regrets the hairstyle and apologised to ‘all the mothers who saw their children get the same haircut’ while speaking with Sports Illustrated.
Oasis Academy on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent has described a teenager’s Ronaldo-inspired fringe as ‘inappropriate’ and demanded he shaves it off
He said the head-turning trim had been a distraction from a leg injury he had at the time.
In a statement sent to Kent Online, Oasis Academy said: ‘We take pride in all of our students and want to model and set high expectations for everyone.
‘As part of these, we have established behaviour and uniform policies in place, where the requirements around hair styles are very clear.
‘Our staff, students and their families understand and follow these requirements that have been in place for many years.’