Girl wins religious bangle case

Sarika Watkins-Singh, 14, won a High Court ruling that Aberdare Girls' Comprehensive School in South Wales broke race and equality laws by barring her for breaking its strict rules on the wearing of jewellery.

The school has now agreed to re-admit Sarika in September and to allow her to wear the Kara, a slim steel bracelet worn by many Sikhs as a sign of their identity and faith. But the school may decide to appeal against the judgment.

A judge held that the school was guilty of indirect discrimination under race relations and equality laws. Mr Justice Silber had been told that the Kara was as important to Sarika as it was to England spin bowler Monty Panesar, who has been pictured wearing the bangle.

The judge stressed that his decision was based on the particular facts of Sarika's case and did not resolve the issue of whether the wearing of the Kara should be allowed in schools generally. But his judgment provoked strong reaction on both sides of the debate.

Human rights group Liberty, which had backed Sarika's case, said the decision was a victory for "our great British traditions of religious tolerance and race equality".

The school insisted it was an establishment "where girls flourish, learning to become good citizens whilst treating each other as equal, irrespective of wealth, race, religion or creed". And the Association of School and College Leaders said: "The purpose of school uniform is to create a community ethos and no individual pupils should be able to go their own way."

Sarika, of mixed Welsh and Punjabi origin and from Cwmbach, near Aberdare, was at first taught in isolation and eventually excluded for refusing to take off the bangle in defiance of the school's policy, which prohibits the wearing of any jewellery other than a wrist watch and plain ear studs.

She said after the judgment: "I'm overwhelmed by the outcome we have received today, and it's a massive relief to know that the long journey which I have been on to protect my Kara is finally coming to an end. I am so happy to know that no-one will ever have to go through what me and my family have gone through and no other pupil will ever get banned from wearing their Kara again."

She added: I am proud to be a Welsh, Punjabi, Sikh girl. Thanks."