A MOTHER has compared a school with the Nazis after it decided to segregate her daughter for having purple hair.

Hazel Browning, of Woodmancote, Worcester, believes Nunnery Wood High School is waging a campaign against her 15-year-old daughter Elizabeth McMasters.

However the school, in Spetchley Road, Worcester, says it is following its own clear guidelines, which treat all students equally.

Ms Browning claims the campaign against her daughter escalated after she was put into isolation for piercing her ears last month.

She said: "I did her hair. She's gone purple. It's a permanent colour which means it has to grow out or be recoloured.

"The school rang me up [on Thursday]. They said they are going to segregate Elizabeth because that's not part of the uniform.

"I was quite narked about this. I called them Nazis. They have pulled her up on that and also on trousers.

"They are trying to pick up on their policies and their uniforms. But they can't be Nazis about this."

She added that the school complained about her daughter's trousers, hair and shoes after she had her ears pierced.

She said: "I don't think it's fair. I don't want to think of my daughter going into a building with control freaks.

"They want her to wear a skirt. I will never send my daughter to school in a skirt. I'm a mother of six boys. I know what boys are like."

Ms Browning said her daughter had been wearing the same shoes since year seven because she suffers from blisters.

She said it is difficult to find footwear for Elizabeth because her feet are easily damaged due to Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS).

The mother-of-seven questioned why the school was punishing her child for things that did not inhibit her learning.

She added that Elizabeth suffered an allergic reaction when she carried out a strand test to dye her hair brown.

The mother said: "They have isolated her again today. She went back into school this morning with a scarf on her head.

"The head of year 10 rang me and said it's not good enough that Elizabeth's hair is purple."

Stephen Powell, head teacher of Nunnery Wood High School, said: "The school has a very public and clear uniform policy.

"In extreme situations we do ask students to work from the main body of students until parents have a chance to follow the school's expectations.

"The uniform policy is there to allow all students from all backgrounds to look and feel the same and all students are treated absolutely equally within that policy. It's the point of the policy.

"In our last large scale parents' survey we had a 100 per cent approval rating for leadership and management of the school."

Mr Powell said he was backed by parents who respect - and are happy to meet - the high expectations at Nunnery Wood.