My daughter, 10, was excluded from school after teachers called her Cruella de Vil-inspired hair ‘distracting’ – but she won’t be changing it

A ten-year-old girl has been expelled from school after her teachers said her Cruella de Vil-inspired hair was “distracting” to other students.

Evie Smith has dyed half of her mouse brown hair blonde to match the colour of her favourite hair colour, Melanie Martinez, ahead of her concert in Manchester later this month.

The American singer-songwriter is famous for her signature split-dye hairstyle, inspired by Cruella de Vil from the hit film 101 Dalmatians.

But when Evie returned to Kincraig Primary School in Blackpool, Lancashire, for the first day of school, she was sent home.

The school told her she had to get her hair back to its natural color before she could return.

However, her mother, April Smith, 35, has decided that Evie’s hairstyle will remain unchanged until after the concert on September 21.

She now homeschools her daughter.

Evie, who is in Year 6, said: ‘I feel really let down by the school. They singled me out because of my hair. ‘It wasn’t distracting, it was in a ponytail and no one touched it. All my friends think it’s really cool, but they don’t find it distracting’

American singer-songwriter Melanie Martinez is famous for her signature split-dye hairstyle, inspired by Cruella de Vil from the hit film 101 Dalmatians

Evie, who is in Year 6, said: ‘I feel really let down by the school. They singled me out because of my hair.

“It wasn’t distracting, it was in a ponytail and no one touched it. All my friends think it’s really cool, but they don’t think it’s distracting.”

She added: ‘I like my hair because it allows me to express myself freely.

‘I love her songs and what she means lyrically, because she tries to turn bullying into compliments.

‘I’m really happy with it and all the songs are my favorites.’

April said the school had never previously raised concerns about her daughter.

“She’s a smart girl, she achieves all her goals, gets good reports at school, is never late and never has time off,” she said.

‘We’ve never had any complaints about Evie, all her friends love her.

‘As a child in this day and age, I think it is very important that they can express themselves.

‘Evie is so quiet, so it was a big step for her to dye her hair.

“I thought it was great and I’m proud of her for not being different and not following the child.”

April suffers from fibromyalgia and arthritis and Evie helps her mother make tea when she can’t and looks after her three-year-old sister Trinity.

Headteacher Karen Appleby said: ‘Kincraig Primary School, like all schools in the country, has a clear uniform policy and we expect our pupils to adhere to this.

‘Sometimes students arrive at school with a hairstyle or uniform that does not comply with our policy.

‘If this happens, we contact the parents and ask them to make the necessary adjustments.

‘Regarding this matter, it is important to make it clear that Evie has not been suspended.

‘Our priority is that our students learn together with their friends in class.

“We continue to work with Evie’s mother to ensure this happens as quickly as possible.”