Schoolboy sent home for Ronaldo-style World Cup haircut

A schoolboy has been sent home from lessons for having a Ronaldo-style haircut to honour of his Braziliian World Cup hero.

In the spirit of the World Cup, Alfie Ransom, 12, asked his mum to cut his hair in the iconic style of Brazilian football legend Ronaldo Nazário. The star striker won the 2002 World Cup with Brazil sporting the unusual trim, which he said was a plan to take the pressure off him.

Alfie, from Hull, East Yorkshire, had been contemplating the new hair do for weeks and after England won their first World Cup game on Monday, he asked mum Emma Shaw to go ahead with the chop. However, the schoolboy's retro style did not impress the teachers at Sirius West Academy, Hull Live reports .

Emma said she received a call on Wednesday morning to say that Alfie was being sent home for breaching school rules. The 32-year-old mum questioned the secondary school on how his haircut would affect his learning, especially as it wasn't too impractical.

However, she claims the school insisted that it violated uniform rules and he wouldn't be allowed to come back until it was fully shaved off. Emma said: "Nowadays, schools are all about accepting people for who they are and encouraging people to be unique and themselves. How is this any different?

"Ronaldo is one of my son's favourite players and it's the World Cup. Even since I was a kid, there were always trends according to what pop stars and celebrities were doing- we would go crazy for the stars.

"Alfie's friends loved the haircut and it made Alfie really happy and confident. He likes school and wanted to go as normal but he won't be allowed to go back until he's shaved it all off, which is ridiculous because it won't affect his learning one bit."

Alfie's haircut was not liked by his teachers (Richard Addison)

The Hull mum is in two minds about what to do next because although she understands there are certain rules, shaving a child's head completely feels cruel. She continued: "I just know that shaving his head will make him feel sad.

"He's confident with how he looks now and I don't want to force him to have his head shaved. However, it is important for him to be in school and if they won't let him back until it's shaved, I don't know what to do."

Secondary schools have become notoriously strict on uniform in the past few years. Makeup, nail polish and haircuts have all come under scrutiny as schools push for a "natural" and "appropriate" look.

Sirius West Academy's uniform policy states: "Hairstyles must be appropriate for Academy life. There should be no extreme hairstyles such as a Mohican, shaved ‘tram’ lines or unnatural hair colour."