Schoolboy put in isolation after teachers found his mullet hairstyle ‘too extreme’

'They said it wasn't professional'

Toby Quinn was left fuming after his teachers said the famous Aussie-style trim was 'unacceptable' and ‘unprofessional’ and gave him a week to chop it off.

The schoolboy was separated from his classmates and kept in isolation for an entire day at St Aidan's Catholic Academy in Sunderland.

Ironically, he had previously been punished the same way for having his hair too short - but was now told it was too long.

Several schools in Australia have banned the iconic hairstyle, which rose to prominence in the 70s and 80s, and made a comeback across the globe last year.

But it is believed to be the first time a British school has clamped down on the mullet in recent years after it began coming back into fashion here.

Toby’s mum Naomi, 47, said the school considered her son’s new haircut as extreme after recently changing their haircut policy.

Mum-of-two Naomi, of Ashbrooke, Sunderland, said: “His teachers said they’d changed the haircut policy and it had to go.

"They said that it wasn’t professional and he wasn’t allowed to have it and was told to cut it off.

"I don’t know why a 15-year-old needs to be considered professional. The general gist was that it was considered extreme.

“He did get isolated for having it, he got separated from the school community and he was there for the rest of the day.

“He’s been in isolation previously for having his hair too short. They didn’t allow skin fades.

“Strangely they relaxed that haircut rule and they were allowed to have skin fades. He was the only boy with a mullet in school and they didn’t like it.

“Staff told me he had to have his mullet cut off. I was told in a meeting it had to be cut off. That was about four weeks ago, they’d given him seven days to get rid of the hair."

The teenager was initially given a week to chop of his locks but teachers extended the deadline when he revealed his plans to raise money for charity.

Toby eventually had his mullet cut off for Newcastle Hospitals Charity on Tuesday to support a ward which saved his grandad’s life last year.

Naomi, who is a hairdresser herself, added: "We told them he’s decided to raise money and they said he could have a couple of weeks

"He wasn’t happy at all though to lose the mullet, he said he was fuming. But he’s come to terms with it, he’s had a few weeks to digest it."

Toby has managed to rake in over £200 in donations so far after setting up a JustGiving page three weeks ago.

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