A PUPIL claims he was discriminated against by his school after refusing to remove an eyebrow piercing.

Tyler Corpse was taken out of classes at Haughton Academy, Darlington, until he complied with its uniform policy, which only allows ear studs.

The 16-year-old said: "I won't take my piercing out as it expresses who I am and does not affect my learning."

He was provided with school work to do on his own until the piercing was removed - but said this made him "discriminated against and bullied".

Headteacher, Rachel Ireland, said: "For health and safety reasons, our uniform policy just allows ear studs. We have more than a thousand pupils here who move around a lot and it is a safety issue.

"Our priority is teaching and learning and we do not want to have to manage these things. We would like parents to support us in this."

Tyler said he was isolated from lessons after telling staff he could not remove or cover his piercing as it was healing.

He claimed the material he was given while working on his own was not relevant and that he was insulted by teachers.

He also alleges that he only had access to day-old drinking water and that a staff member tried to cover his piercing with a plaster, without his consent, causing  it to bleed.

"The school are just bothered about appearance, what difference does it make to learning?"

"This will effect my education as I am not in lessons and do not have teachers on hand."

He has since been removed from Haughton Academy by his mother Zoe Smith, who said: "He is a good kid and has never been in trouble. He has been treated unfairly at a crucial time of his education."

Responding to Tyler's allegations, Ms Ireland said: "A member of staff was assisting Tyler in attempting to cover his piercing. I was in the same room and Tyler did not inform me it was bleeding or complain that he did not want the teacher's assistance.

"He was given exam material and he is a year 11 student with a huge amount of independence. There was fresh water every day."