Cold shoulder for head-shave pupil

Liam Hall after his head shave for Macmillan Cancer Support.

The parents of a 10-year-old boy who had his head shaved for charity have criticised his school for its response.

When Liam Hall saw the advert for Macmillan Cancer Support’s Brave the Shave initiative, he decided that he wanted to help the cause by having all of his brown hair shaved off.

With support from mum and dad Susan and Robin, friends, family members and others have donated and the current total is over £170, with more to come.

Liam Hall before his head shave for Macmillan Cancer Support.

But they were shocked with what happened when he went to his school, St Benedict’s RC Middle in Ashington, after the shave on the second last day of term.

Mrs Hall said: “Liam was a little nervous about going into school after the shave, so I went along with him.

“Although Liam explained that he had done it for Macmillan, we were abruptly told ‘you should have consulted with school first’ at reception and then by the head of year and they didn’t say well done for thinking of others. It was an appalling response.

“Our thinking was that it’s only a couple of days and his hair will grow back over the summer holidays. I know the school has general policies for hair, but it should have appreciated that he was raising money for a good cause.

“People we’ve told were shocked as everyone who has donated, including my friends at church and my husband’s work colleagues, had nothing but positive things to say about Liam.”

When contacted by the Leader, the school declined to comment.

To make a donation, visit www.bravetheshave.org.uk/donate and type Liam Hall into the search box.