School and religious symbol cases

Sarika Singh was excluded from Aberdare Girls' School in November

A teenager from south Wales has won her claim that she was discriminated against because she was not allowed to wear a religious bangle to school.

Sarika Singh was told she was breaking the uniform's 'no jewellery' policy, and had been excluded from school for nine months.

But the High Court agreed with her that it was an expression of her Sikh faith and that she was a victim of unlawful discrimination.

The case of Sarika Singh draws parallels with other cases where religious symbols have caused controversy in schools. Here are some of the cases that have made the headlines.

DENBIGH HIGH SCHOOL, LUTON

Shabina Begum, 15, a pupil at Denbigh High School in Luton, won a 2005 court of appeal battle to be allowed to wear head-to-toe religious dress - the jilbab - at school. The school did allow girls to wear the hijab, a headscarf, and trousers and tunic, but refused Miss Begum permission to come to classes in full-length dress.

The school won its appeal at the House of Lords. In a unanimous ruling, the judges said the school had "taken immense pains to devise a uniform policy which respected Muslim beliefs".

MILLAIS SCHOOL, HORSHAM

Lydia Playfoot, was told by Millais School in Horsham, West Sussex, that she must remove a "purity ring", which signifies that she does not believe in sex before marriage, or face expulsion. Miss Playfoot took her case to the High Court in July 2007 but the inquiry ruled that she had not suffered any discrimination.

ICKNIELD HIGH SCHOOL, LUTON

Girls at Icknield High School in Luton, Bedfordshire, were given the go-ahead to wear Muslim headscarves in 2004. The decision came after a prospective Muslim pupil at the school found that hijabs were not on the approved uniform list, forcing a review of the policy.

ROBERT NAPIER SCHOOL, GILLINGHAM

Samantha Devine, a 13-year-old Catholic pupil at the Robert Napier School in Gillingham, Kent, was told last year

not to wear a crucifix on a chain because it breached health and safety rules. School bosses told her that she could wear a crucifix as a small lapel badge but not on a chain.

MADANI HIGH SCHOOL, LEICESTER

In 2006 the Madani High School in Leicester announced that non-Muslim girls at the faith school would be required to wear head scarves regardless of their religion. The school, which is required by law to accept 10% of non-Muslim students, said that all pupils would be required to cover their heads while at school.

HEADFIELD CofE JUNIOR SCHOOL, DEWSBURY

Aishah Azmi, 24, a British Muslim teacher who refused to remove her veil in a primary school during lessons, lost her discrimination test case against Headfield Church of England junior school in Dewsbury in 2006 but was awarded £1,100 for victimisation in the way the dispute was handled.

School wins Muslim dress appeal

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School wins Muslim dress appeal

Shabina's reaction

A school which was told it unlawfully excluded a Muslim pupil for wearing a traditional gown has won its appeal at the House of Lords.

The Court of Appeal had said Denbigh High School had denied Shabina Begum the right to manifest her religion in refusing to allow her to wear a jilbab.

But in a unanimous ruling, judges at the House of Lords overturned that.

They said the Luton school had "taken immense pains to devise a uniform policy which respected Muslim beliefs".

It had done so "in an inclusive, unthreatening and uncompetitive way".

'Unwillingness to comply'

They said: "The rules laid down were as far from being mindless as uniform rules could ever be."

They added: "It appeared the rules were acceptable to mainstream Muslim opinion."

Shabina Begum had chosen a school which "went to unusual lengths to inform parents of its uniform policy."

They ruled there was no interference with her right to manifest her religion as she had chosen a school where such a policy existed.

I feel it is an obligation upon Muslim women to wear the jilbab, although there are many other opinions Shabina Begum Send us your reaction

There were three other schools in the area which permitted the jilbab, they noted, although one was oversubscribed.

Miss Begum eventually attended another local school where she wore the jilbab.

Lord Bingham ruled that the two-year interruption of her schooling was the result of her "unwillingness to comply with a rule to which the school was entitled to adhere".

'Make a stand'

After the ruling, Miss Begum said: "Obviously I am saddened and disappointed about this, but I am quite glad it is all over and I can move on now.

"I had to make a stand about this. Many women will not speak up about what they actually want.

"I still don't see why I was told to go home from school when I was just practising my religion.

"I'm just a teenager - not many teenagers go out there and challenge the system."

She said the shalwar kameez (trousers and tunic) which Denbigh High School allows Muslim pupils to wear, "did not satisfy Islamic clothing".

"I feel it is an obligation upon Muslim women to wear this [the jilbab], although there are many other opinions."

She would consult her lawyers about a potential appeal to the European courts, she said.

In March last year, Denbigh High School said it had "lost on a technicality" when the Court of Appeal said it had failed to consider the Human Rights Act implications of its school uniform policy.

The school, where 79% of the pupils are Muslims, said it had reached its policy after consulting the Department for Education and Skills, leading Muslim groups, parents and pupils.

Lord Justice Brooke had called for more guidance for schools on complying with the Human Rights Act.

A DfES spokesman said he welcomed the ruling, which confirmed current school uniform policy was lawful.

"What an individual pupil should or should not wear in school is a matter for individual schools in consultation with parents."

Hear Lord Bingham give his ruling

House of Lords judgement