A schoolgirl who has been excluded from classes for 30 days after taking part in an anti-war protest is to take her case to the High Court, with the support of human rights group Liberty.
The group is seeking a judicial review on the decision to exclude 15-year-old Elena Grice from taking classes at the Helena Romanes School in Braintree, Essex. The ban is running from 24 March to 20 May.
School governors excluded Grice after she became engaged in a confrontation with the school's headmaster, after some pupils were prevented from attending a protest march against the war in Iraq off school premises.
A Liberty spokesman said: "We accept that the school needs to be able to punish Elena, but we believe the 30-day exclusion is excessive. Most exclusions are two to three days."
