What these teenagers did should be applauded by their schools. Instead they were disciplined.

This is Brooke Beatty. She’s 15 years old and goes to high school in the Brisbane suburb of Corinda. Recently, Brooke wanted to do a good thing and so, she decided to take part in Shave for a Cure – an initiative in which people raise money for leukaemia research by shaving their heads.

Brooke raised $600 for the cause. But when she turned up at school this week with her ‘Blade I’ haircut, she was told that she was breaking the school’s appearance rules and that she would have to cover up her bald head if she wanted to attend class.

Speaking to Channel Seven, Brooke – who doesn’t know anyone who has suffered from leukaemia but simply felt passionately about the cause – said she was surprised by her school’s reaction.

“There are no extreme haircuts allowed so it has examples like mohawks undercuts, etc,” Brooke said. “So I would never call shaving your head for a cure an extreme haircut.”

Education Queensland maintains that no students from the high school in question have been disciplined for participating in Shave for a Cure. But Brooke’s testimony tells a different story and it seems that Brooke is not alone.

In a similar story out of the US state of Colorado this week, a nine-year-old girl who shaved her head also got kicked out of school on the basis that her haircut violated the school’s dress standards.

Kamryn Renfro wanted to shave her head to show support for her 11-year-old friend Delaney Clements, who recently lost her hair because of chemotherapy treatment.

But when she turned up at school, Kamryn was told she could wear a wig or not bother coming to class until her hair grew back.

Kamryn’s friend Delany told a US news station: “I was really excited I would have somebody to support me and I wouldn’t be alone with people always laughing at me. I would at least have somebody to go through it all.”

The stories of both Brooke and Kamryn come in stark contrast to the story of the 17 female students from Sydney who recently shaved their heads to raise money and awareness of leukemia – with full support from their school.

The Cheltenham Girls High School students appeared on Channel Nine’s Mornings program a few weeks ago to have their heads shaved live on television, as part of The Leukaemia Foundation’s World’s Greatest Shave.

At the time, Mamamia spoke to Cheltenham Girls High School Principal Susan Bridge about the school’s support for the initiative.

The school has taken part in the annual fundraiser for the Leukaemia Foundation before. Last year, they raised a total of $53,000, making them the 8th highest fundraising organisation in Australia, up against huge corporations such as Westpac and the NRMA.

However, this is the first time that the school’s event has attracted media attention on such a large scale.

“Originally we were going to do the shaving here at school, but then Channel Nine contacted us,” she said.

Bridge said that the increased publicity had definitely assisted the girls’ fundraising efforts, with the group raising an extra $2,000 in the five hours after their ‘shave’ was broadcast.

On their return to class, the girls were celebrated for their commitment to the cause.

“The girls walked into the school hall and it erupted into cheers,” she said.

“They received a heroes’ welcome.”

And isn’t it a shame that the other two girls in the story – Brooke Beatty and Kamryn Renfro – weren’t given the same kind of reception when they went back to class? These teenagers are doing something that’s pretty darn brave – being ‘not like everyone else’ at school can make life pretty tough. These kids care passionately about a cause; surely that is something their schools should be celebrating rather than disciplining.