GCSE pupil Nicole Howard’s is ‘dyeing’ to get back to class – but her ‘red’ hair has got her banned.

The 16-year-old says she has dyed her long locks darker every week since going back to Buttershaw Business & Enterprise College after Christmas but keeps being told to tone it down even more.

Now the student, predicted to get A grades in most of her subjects, fears she is missing out on vital revision support because she has been banished to study alone in the ‘green room’.

Nicole, whose hair is now a dark brown with a deep red hue in the light, says she has twice been given the OK for her new colours by teachers only to be pulled out of class by other staff and sent back to isolation.

Her nan Linda Howard, of Hunter’s Yard, Great Horton, Bradford, said: “It’s frustrating. One teacher says it’s fine and another says it’s not.

“It’s not a bright colour that stands out at all. “We could understand if it was vivid pink but it’s not. It’s got to the stage when she’s too frightened to wash her hair in case it gets lighter.”

Nicole, who plans to go to college to study psychology next year if she gets her grades, said: “The school says it respects the right of individuals, then it segregates me from my classmates just because I’ve dyed my hair. That’s not fair. It’s not even bad.

“I’ve not misbehaved or been disruptive. I just want to get back to proper class with teachers who know their subject and get on with my exams.

“I’ve already sat my maths and English but I’ve still got my geography and six science exams to go. I’m really worried. I can’t keep dyeing my hair, it’s going to fall out.”

Nicole said there had been as many as 12 pupils in the green room at one time because of the colour of their hair. She said: “That’s a lot of people missing lessons. We’ve never had any letters home about hair colour. There’s been mention of uniforms and jewellery but nothing actually about dyeing hair.”

Skirts have been banned from the college but, until the Telegraph & Argus approached the college about Nicole’s plight, there was no mention of a hair dye ban on its website.

According to the college, there were extra pages ready to be added to the website in order to update the 2010-11 prospectus and that would now be done.

The pages were later e-mailed to the T&A and under the General Appearance section, it was stated: “We challenge extreme hair styles and colour – we expect a natural hair colour and smart appearance for school.”

However, head teacher Richard Hughes said: “We extend our high standards in uniform to general appearance and take time to reinforce this with our students.

“Our expectations are communicated in the prospectus, in letters to parents and, if required, in our weekly newsletter. We also welcome discussions with parents about this if the need arises.”