She spent nine weeks in isolation in a classroom, alone except for a teaching assistant, working from notes which she was instructed to copy. The school canteen was barred to her and so were its corridors whenever they were being used by other pupils.

She was not allowed to join her friends in the playground and had to be accompanied by a teacher when she went to the toilet. All because her determination to wear a metal bangle was considered by her school to be an act of defiance.

Yesterday, a high court judge ruled that the exclusion of 14-year-old Sarika Watkins-Singh from Aberdare girls' school in south Wales because she continued to wear the bracelet - a symbol of her Sikh religion - was unlawful.

Mr Justice Stephen Silber concluded the school was guilty of indirect discrimination under race relations - Sikhs are a race - and equality laws. [Link]

The family of a Sikh girl excluded from school for wearing a religious bangle have asked the prime minister to intervene in the matter.

Sarika Singh, 14, and her family delivered a petition to No 10 Downing Street signed by Sikh organisations.

The teenager has been excluded from Aberdare Girls' School since November 2007 for wearing a Kara bangle.

A High Court case in London next week, challenging the school's decision, is expected to take three days.

The petition was signed by 150 Gurdwaras, Sikh meeting places, and other Sikh organisations as well as more than 70 non-Sikh bodies, including civil liberty and anti-racist groups and trade unions.

Speaking in London, Sarika's mother, Sinita Singh, said her daughter's education had been badly affected by the exclusion. [Link]

A Sikh teenager excluded from lessons for wearing a religious bangle has been given a temporary place at another school.

Sarika Singh, 14, has not attended Aberdare Girls' School in South Wales since being told she could not wear the bracelet, known as a Kara.

Her case is to be heard at the High Court in London later this year, but no date has been set for a hearing.

Sarika has now enrolled at Mountain Ash Comprehensive School, which is allowing her to wear the bracelet, and will stay there until the legal process is complete.

Jagtar Singh, of the Sikh Federation UK, said: "Sarika's mother understands the preliminary hearing is unlikely to be held until April or May.

"It's too long a wait for Sarika, so she has started at another school."

Human rights group Liberty, which is supporting Sarika's High Court battle, claims the school has breached race relations and human rights laws by not allowing Sarika to wear the Kara.

Sarika, the only Sikh at her school, was excluded from Aberdare Girls' School in November, after being taught in isolation for two months.

The school bans girls from wearing jewellery [sic] other than wristwatches and plain ear studs. [Link]

A 14-year-old Sikh girl cannot wear a religious wrist bangle to school pending a full legal battle over her cultural and religious rights, the High Court ruled today.
Sarika Watkins-Singh was excluded after she refused to remove the Kara bangle and is now due to fight in the courts to establish a permanent right to continue wearing it in class.
Backed by her mother, Sanita, 38, she says it is an important symbol of her culture and Sikh faith.
She wants to return to Aberdare Girls School in south Wales and continue her education pending the hearing.
The school governors say the bangle cannot be worn because of its "no jewellery" policy.
Today her lawyers came to London's High Court, suggesting that she should be allowed to wear it on her right wrist under a long-sleeved jumper until there was a final ruling in her application for judicial review, which could take several months.
Helen Mountfield, appearing for Sarika, argued that she was unfairly being made to choose between her education and her faith.
But Mr Justice Harrison accepted the argument of the school governors that, to allow Sarika to be made an exception to school uniform policy even for a short period would cause disruption among the 600 girls at the school.
Jonathan Auburn, for the school, said there would be the risk of pupils "turning up at the school displaying jewellery saying that it was allowed".
The judge ruled: "Whilst I accept there will be detriment to the claimant if she is not able to wear the Kara in the interim, it does not seem to me that is anything like as significant as the detriment to the school if she were allowed to wear it."
The Punjabi Welsh girl from Cwmbach, near Aberdare, said the small, plain steel bangle was "a constant reminder to do good".
Ms Mountfield had told the judge that Sarika was allowed to wear it for about two years before a PE teacher asked her to take it off in April last year.
"She is 14, now approaching the age at which she is required to choose her GCSE subjects.
"She cares about her education and is a child with aspirations to have a professional career.
"She will suffer harm if she cannot attend school in a way that is consistent with her culture and religion, and is forced to choose between something which is central to her ethnic and religious identity and her education."
Ms Mountfield added that Sarika could not hide the Kara in a bag, which the school was suggesting as a compromise.
The point of the Kara was that it was a symbol of a faith with a history of martyrdom that required its adherents to visibly stand up for what they believed, she told the judge.
Recently the school head, Jane Rosser, said that wearing the Kara was against regulations because it was a piece of jewellery.
Sarika's family contend it was not jewellery as it was worn for religious reasons and not for decoration.
The only two forms of jewellery that girls are allowed to wear in school are a wrist watch and one pair of plain metal stud earrings.
In the forthcoming High Court hearing, Sarika's lawyers will argue that the school's stance violates race relations laws, the 2006 Equality Act and the 1998 Human Rights Act.
Her mother says she has the support of several local politicians and the Sikh Federation UK.
The teenager would remove the bangle for gym classes, or wood and metalwork, for safety reasons.
The mother said recently: "We feel very strongly that Sarika has a right to manifest her religion. She is not asking for anything big and flashy, she is not making a big fuss, she just wants a reminder of her religion."
Her daughter's interest in the Sikh faith intensified after the family visited India, including the Golden Temple in Amritsar, two years ago.
"I don't believe in putting pressure on children to follow a certain religion, but Sarika decided for herself that she wanted to be a practising Sikh," Mrs Singh, a mother-of-two, added.
Sarika said: "I am a Sikh and it is very important for me to wear the Kara because it is a symbol of my faith and a constant reminder that I should only do good work, and never do anything bad, with my hands.
"It is a comfort to me and a confidence booster when I am doing my exams. The reason I am fighting for my right to wear the Kara is because I want to stand up for the right of all the other Sikh pupils across the country to wear their Karas in school."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=512500&in_page_id=1770&ito=newsnow
also reported on http://ethnicconfusionbritain.blogware.com/blog ,www.ethnicconfusionbritain.co.uk

But Sikh pupil at centre of row must stay off school during proceedings

A judge ruled this week that claims of discrimination brought against a school by a 14-year-old Sikh pupil should be heard at the High Court.

But it was also decided that Sarika Watkins-Singh should not be allowed to return to Aberdare Girls’ School in Rhondda Cynon Taf during any legal proceedings, a blow to London-based human rights group Liberty which has filed the challenge.

The legal battle, expected to be heard within the next two weeks, follows the exclusion of Miss Watkins-Singh by her school’s governing body last November.

It took the disciplinary action after Miss Watkins-Singh refused to remove a steel bangle, called a Kara, one of the five Ks in Sikh religion. The governors decided it was against the school’s code of conduct, which only allows a wrist-watch and a single pair of stud earrings as part of the uniform.

However, Liberty claims the decision is illegal and in breach of race relations as well as human rights laws. The group also argues that it contravenes a 25-year-old Law Lords decision to allow Sikh children to wear items representing their faith – including turbans.

Anna Fairclough, Liberty’s legal officer, said she was pleased the case was going ahead but disappointed that its additional request for Miss Watkins-Singh to return to the school was rejected. The group is set to appeal against the decision.

“Nothing less than our traditions of religious freedom and racial tolerance are on trial here,” she said.

“Individuals from any religion who wish to modestly express their faith should not be denied a proper education, as Miss Singh has.”

Meanwhile, new guidance issued by the Assembly government in response to the high-profile case, says excluding pupils for breaking school uniform rules should only become an option as a “last resort”. [Link]

The case of a 14-year-old Sikh girl excluded from school for wearing a religious bangle will be heard in the High Court.

Sarika Singh, a pupil at Aberdare Girls' School, South Wales, has not attended school since being told she cannot wear her bracelet, known as a kara.

Human rights group Liberty claims the school has breached race relations and human rights laws, and has now won the right to put the matter before the High Court. The case is not expected to be heard for several months.

Ann Fairclough, Liberty's legal officer who is representing the Singhs, said: "Nothing less than our traditions of religious freedom and racial tolerance are on trial in this case.

"Individuals from any religion who wish to modestly express their faith should not be denied a proper education as Ms Singh has."

Liberty claims the school is also breaching a 25-year-old Law Lords' decision allowing Sikhs to wear items such as turbans to school.

An interim hearing will be held in the next two weeks to decide whether Sarika, the only Sikh at her school, can return to classroom while the case is continuing. She had been taught in isolation at the school for two months, and has been excluded since the beginning of November.

The school has banned students from wearing any jewellery other than plain ear studs and wrist watches. [Link]

ANN Clwyd MP has called on the governors of Aberdare Girls School to back down in a row about a Sikh girl wearing a bangle.

Sarika Singh, 14, has been excluded for wearing a kara, a silver bracelet, in line with her faith. The schools say it contravenes their strict no jewellery policy. She is due to challenge the decision in the High Court.

Mrs Clwyd, MP for the Cynon Valley, is urging governors to pull out of potentially expensive legal action, claiming they are unlikely to win.

She said: “There are legal precedents establishing a Sikh pupil’s right to wear those items that are essential to their religion. Boys, for example, have been allowed to continue to wear turbans.” [Link]

Supporters of a 14-year-old Sikh girl who was excluded from school for wearing a religious bangle called for her to be allowed to return to classes today.

At a rally on the steps of the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff, demonstrators called for schools to be issued with new guidelines on uniforms.

A legal challenge has been filed at the High Court on behalf of Sarika Singh who was excluded last November for refusing to remove the bangle.

She spent the previous two months being taught in isolation at Aberdare Girls’ School, south Wales, after staff noticed her silver bracelet.

She and her supporters insists the bangle, known as a kara, should not be treated as jewellery [sic] because it is an important reminder for Sikhs to do good with their hands. [Link]

A Sikh pupil who has refused to stop wearing a religious bangle or Kara to her south Wales school has been excluded for a third time.

Sarika Singh, 14, had returned to Aberdare Girls' School in the Cynon Valley, after a temporary exclusion, for a meeting to discuss the issue.

The school has said that by wearing the Kara, Sarika was breaking its code of conduct.

Her family have said they will now seek a judicial review.

On Tuesday morning, Sarika and her mother Sinita Singh and two officials from the Valleys Race Equality Council (VREC) held a 20-minute meeting about the school's refusal to allow the pupil to wear the Kara.

After the meeting, Wayne Lee, of the VREC said: "Sarika is very upset and wants to go back into school. She's a good student and she wants to see her friends, like any other 14-year-old.

"I can't discuss what was said in too much detail, but Sarika has been excluded from school again. I don't know yet for how long, we will find out in due course."

Mrs Singh added: "We are very, very disappointed, but the school has made their decision. That's all I can say at the moment." [Link]

A 14-year-old girl has been excluded from a school in south Wales for wearing a Sikh bangle, or Kara

Sarika Singh refused to take off the religious symbol because it is "a constant reminder to do good".

Aberdare Girls School said it has temporarily excluded a pupil for refusing to accept a governors' ruling.

Sarika's mother Sinita said she would challenge the decision. The uniform policy does not allow pupils to wear any kind of religious symbols.

Mrs Singh said she has the support of several local politicians and the Sikh Federation and is taking legal advice.

She said the teenager would remove the bangle for gym classes, or wood and metalwork, for safety reasons.

Mrs Singh said: "It's not jewellery, it's part of our faith and symbol of our belief."

She said they had a meeting with the school and argued the case with the board of governors, but they refused to allow her to wear it. [Link]