Three students . . . Enda Carroll, 15, Sean Treacy, 16, and Andrew Kelly, 15 . . . were prevented from sitting their Junior Cert exams in the school last week because it was claimed that their tight haircuts did not comply with school rules.

Hairdresser Catherine Mills-Gorman told the Sunday Tribune this weekend:

"This whole thing makes my blood boil as so many of the young lads around Tullamore get their hair cut every two weeks just to look spick and span.

"I don't know how the school principal can know if a student has a blade 1 or blade 2 haircut as there is very little difference and haircuts look tighter on people like Enda Carroll who has light coloured hair."

Mills-Gorman, who cut Carroll's hair, added: "Unless the principal has done a hairdressing course, he could not tell the difference in haircuts.

We would be happy to have him come down here to do a hairdressing course with us.

I have a 15-year-old son in the other school in the town who has an even shorter 0.5 blade haircut and he never has anything said to him at school.

"If this was such a big deal to the school why didn't they contact all the barbers in Tullamore directly to ask them to stop giving kids tight haircuts? It wouldn't matter to any of the barbers as we charge all schoolboys the same amount for their haircuts no matter how short they are."

The parents of the three boys accused the Tullamore school of applying "one rule for one, another rule for others".

School principal Edward McEvoy denied this and said the three students had not been singled out for particular attention. He explained that the school had high standards of discipline and could not accept "wilful challenging of the school rules".

McEvoy initially arranged for the students to sit the remaining exams six miles away, at Ard Scoil Chiarain Naofa in Clara. Two of the students availed of this option while Carroll plans to sit the exams next year in a different school.

McEvoy also offered them the option of concluding their exams in an isolated room at Tullamore College. However, this offer was rejected by Enda Carroll's mother Pam.

"I think that it is ridiculous that the school still have not contacted us about this whole affair. We heard through the media that they were going to allow the three lads to go back to the school to do their exams in a special exam centre. Why should they have to be put in a special room as if they had some sort of disease?" Pam Carroll said.

In a U-turn this weekend, McEvoy said the trio are welcome back on Monday after the "two day sanction".

As the debate over the Tullamore haircut fiasco rages on, the State Examinations Commission washed its hands of the affair.

"Dress codes and matters to do with the appearance of students are up to individual schools. Our jurisdiction only starts when the students step into the exam centre. The rest is up to the individual schools. Our main concern would be that the students were afforded the option to sit the exams and we were satisfied with the arrangements that were made for the students, " Andrea Feeney, a spokesperson for the commission, said.

Several Junior Certificate students from Tullamore College spoke to the Sunday Tribune after completing their CSPE (Civil Social and Public Education) examination on Friday afternoon.

One male student, who did not wish to be named after the school authorities asked the students not to speak to the media, said: "Most of the students think it was wrong what happened to the three lads during the week. It was stupid to stop them from doing their exams because of their haircuts."

Another student said: "If Enda had a job lined up and wanted to leave school, he would have to wait a year as he can't leave school without his Junior Certificate. I think he was not right to do the exams as a matter of principle."

A female student said:

"Girls in the school have been told that they will be suspended for getting their hair coloured so I think the principal has too many rules for us. It was stupid to stop the lads from doing their exams in their own school because it was only a haircut."

However, not all the students were on the side of the haircut trio. One male pupil said: "I think that it is a silly rule but the lads still should have stuck to it."

Another added: "It's a stupid rule but rules are rules and they should have stuck to them. The whole thing has been blown out of all proportion."

Meanwhile, education minister Mary Hanafin, a former teacher, said she would not comment on individual cases but she did say that nothing should interfere with the calm atmosphere at exam time.

"Where rules are set down, they should be given to the parents and to the students in advance and should be agreed in advance and should be agreed with them, " she said.

"But when they're broken, the sanctions should be proportionate to the actual breach of the rules. It is really very important that it shouldn't interfere with the calm atmosphere of the exams."