She should have been at school, studying for her GCSEs in order to fulfil her ambition of becoming a doctor. Instead the 15-year-old Muslim girl was at home yesterday explaining why her religious beliefs meant she had not set foot in a classroom for the last 18 months.
The girl, who asked to be identified as "S", has not been to school in Luton since she was sent home in September 2002 after turning up in a jilbab, a long, flowing gown.
Lawyers representing her have lodged papers in the high court which they hope will lead to a judicial review of the case. They claim S's right to practise her religion is being infringed. In return, the school, Denbigh High School, claims that it has a school uniform policy which takes into account all faiths and cultures.
The row has echoes of the controversy in France where politicians voted on Tuesday for a ban on all "ostensible religious symbols" in schools, including the hijab, the headscarf worn by Muslim girls and women.
When S first went to Denbigh High, where almost 80% of pupils are Muslim, she had been content to wear the shalwar kameeze - trousers with a tunic - and the hijab. She was a gifted pupil, top of her class in maths and keen on science. She planned to take at least 10 GCSEs and began to dream of becoming a doctor, as her uncle had been.
In the summer of 2002, she began reading Islamic texts more deeply, frequently attending the local mosques. Though her older sisters did not wear a jilbab, she decided that it was right for her to do so. "My religion became stronger, more important to me. From then on I started wearing the jilbab," she said.
On the first day of the new school year, S turned up wearing a jilbab. She said: "They told me that I couldn't wear it, that I had to go home and change. But I could not do that. It would have meant going against my religious beliefs."
So she stayed at home in a small terrace house near Luton Town Football Club.
Negotiations between S's family, their solicitor and the school failed to reach a compromise.
S has spent the last five terms trying to keep up her studies but says it has been almost impossible. She has not been officially excluded and as a result is not entitled to a home tutor paid for by the state. She feels that because Bangladeshi is spoken at home - her father was a headteacher in Bangladesh - her English has suffered.
"I feel I've lost my education and I've lost my future. I loved science and wanted to study to be a doctor. But my life has come to a full stop. I worry now that I will end up with no job and living on benefits and I can't bear the idea of that."
Her family are backing her stance. Her four siblings, who are out of school, have done well. One brother is studying computer science at university and another has set up his own business. One of the brothers, who is 21, said: "It's wrong that she is being treated in this way and I feel so sorry for her. She is not the happy girl she was."
In a statement, Luton borough council said the school was a "multiracial, multifaith" one, with a "flexible uniform policy" designed to fit in with all religious and cultural beliefs. Pupils can wear trousers, skirts or a shalwar kameeze. A spokeswoman for the council said before the dispute the school had "consulted widely" with mosques and Islamic organisations and had been assured that its uniform satisfied Islamic dress requirements.
The spokeswoman emphasised that S had not been excluded but had chosen to stay away and there was still a place for her. She said the school, its governors and the local education authority had "bent over backwards" to find a solution.
In the high court, however, lawyers for S will argue that she has "effectively" been excluded. The government does not lay down rules on school uniform but says governors should bear in mind sex and race discrimination laws when making their policies. Some schools permit the wearing of the jilbab.
S's family still say they are not sure exactly why the school refused to countenance the wearing of the jilbab. At first they were told it was unsuitable on health and safety grounds: they feared children would trip over the garment.
But S's brother said he believed the school could associate it with Islamist extremism. He added: "Of course, that is ridiculous. We are not extremists. We are just a normal family and my sister has firm religious views."
There is a danger that the case could attract the attention of an established extremist element in Luton. Last month another Luton school, Icknield High, a mile from Denbigh High, was the scene of demonstrations by the group al-Muhajiroun when it surfaced that it did not allow Muslim girls to wear headscarves.
The local paper, the Herald and Post, carried a report on its front page in which it quoted a demonstrator praising Osama bin Laden and calling for Cherie Blair to wear a headscarf or be "punished".
Yesterday a member of al-Muhajiroun, who has been involved in demonstrations in the town, said they would consider picketing the next governors' meeting.
Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, leader of the moderate Muslim Parliament of Great Britain, said: "People should realise that the real battle in this world for Muslims is not about what women wear or how long a man's beard is. The struggle is to be innovative, creative and tolerant."
