A ‘business at the sides, party on the top’ hairdo dubbed the ‘Meet Me at McDonald’s,’ has been banned by a U.K. school, even telling parents their children will be send home if they have one.
The Great Yarmouth Charter Academy headmaster Barry Smith sent a letter to parents specifically calling the “high-top hairstyle” “unacceptable,” according to the Independent.
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The ’80s inspired hairdo was among the other haircuts banned for boys at the school. The other hairdos banned include “Noticeably longer tops that are not layered in and combined with sharply contrasting sides and back,” “Overgrown, heavy fringes brushed forward onto the face,” “High top styles of excessive height,” “Shaven parting lines,” “Hair that is teased to give excessive height” and mohawks.
“Any child whose hair has not been restyled appropriately by Monday 26th February will either be sent home to have their hair restyled or placed in isolation until their hair is restyled,” the letter reads.
The school also sent parents a PowerPoint presentation with photos of the approved hair for boys. It is not known how the haircut became known as the “Meet Me at McDonald’s.”
According to The Sun, the ‘do became popular thanks to 13-year-old rapper Joshua “Little T” Tate, who has recorded tracks with explicit lyrics and feuds with fellow rappers.
“It’s not called ‘Meet Me At McDonald’s‘… it’s called the Little T Cut,” Tate said. He says students should “keep doing it,” adding that none of his teachers have taken issue with it.
“No teachers have ever had a problem with my hair,” he said. “But I’ve not attended a mainstream school since year 7.”
Great Yarmouth Charter Academy, a secondary school in Norfolk, has faced controversy in the past. According to the Independent, Smith told parents their kids need to be in bed by 9 p.m. and awake at 6:30 a.m. every day. Smith, who was brought in to help the school’s low test scores, has even inspired a Facebook group called “Yarmouth High Worried Parents,” which has over 1,000 members.
“This is for parents of children at GYHS or GYCA *CONCERNED* by the new Head teacher Mr Barry Smith’s personal policies & the Inspiration Trusts,” the creator of the group wrote. “There was not a problem with the school polices as listed when we signed up for our children to attend the school, but just his intense didactic like schooling and borderline bullying we have WITNESSED.”
Photo credit: Facebook/ Little T
