A teenager lost her High Court challenge yesterday to be allowed to wear a “purity ring” to school as an expression of her Christian faith.

Lydia Playfoot, 16, had claimed that the ban at the Millais School in Horsham, West Sussex, was an “unlawful interference” with her right to express a belief in sexual abstinence before marriage.

Michael Supperstone, QC, sitting as a deputy High Court judge, dismissed her challenge and said that the school was “fully justified” in its ban. “The decision of the defendant [the school] not to permit the claimant to wear a ‘purity’ ring as a symbol of her commitment to celibacy before marriage was not unlawful,” he said. The decision, he said, did not breach her human rights. “In my judgment, the school was fully justified in acting as it did.”

Ms Playfoot said that she would consider an appeal and that she was “very disappointed”. It was a matter of deep regret that she could not “persuade the court to consider upholding the religious liberty of Christian people in the United Kingdom”, she said.

She said the ruling would mean that “people such as school governors, employers, political organisations and others will be allowed to stop Christians from publicly expressing and practising their faith”.

Ms Playfoot was one of a group of Christians at the Millais School who wore the ring, which is engraved with a Biblical verse, as a sign of belief in abstinence from sex until marriage. In court her lawyers claimed that the secondary school, which allowed Muslim and Sikh students to wear head-scarfs and religious bracelets, breached her human rights.

The school denied her claims, arguing that the purity ring was not an integral part of the Christian faith and that it contravened its uniform policy.

At a recent High Court hearing in London, Paul Diamond, a human rights barrister representing Ms Playfoot, argued that secular school authorities had no right to set themselves up as arbiters of faith and “cannot rule on religious truth”. He said that they were violating Ms Playfoot’s right to “freedom of thought, conscience and religion” under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The wearing of the rings is adapted from the Silver Ring Thing movement in the US, in which the rings symbolise a pledge by Christian teenagers not to have sex before marriage.

Mr Diamond told the court that the case raised several issues relating to the teenager’s right to “manifest her religion”. One was that secular authorities lacked “capacity to rule on the correct manifestation of religious belief”.

In a statement issued after the court ruling Ms Playfoot said: “I believe I have a right not only to state my Christian views on sex, but also to demonstrate my Christian faith and commitment to God and my future husband not to have sex before marriage, through the wearing of a purity ring. I, along with 11 other Christian girls at Millais School, decided before God that we would make a commitment not to have sex before marriage and, as a sign of that commitment, to wear a simple silver ring from the Silver Ring Thing movement.

“Despite the fact that Muslim girls at our school wear headscarves, and Sikhs wear Kara bangles, the school refused to allow me to manifest my belief through the wearing of a ring.”

The school said that it was delighted with the outcome. But the headmaster, Leon Nettley, said that its success was “tinged with regret that proceedings have needed to progress to this level”. He said: “Throughout, we have only ever been trying to uphold a better standard that has established our excellent reputation within the local community.” He dismissed any suggestion that the school was anti-Christian. “The Christian doctrine is reflected in our curriculum and the life of the school community in many ways. We have always respected Lydia’s right to hold and express her views and believe there were many ways in which it was possible for her to do this during her time with us.”

The judge refused the family permission to appeal, although they can still petition the appeal court directly to hear their case. The judge ordered Ms Playfoot’s father, Philip, to pay £12,000 towards the school’s costs.

Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, said: “This is entirely the correct decision. The case was a manipulative attempt to impose a particular religious viewpoint on this school and, presumably, on other schools if this case had been won. Lydia’s parents run the British chapter of the Silver Ring Thing and had a vested interest in being able to spread its message in schools. Schools must have the right to enforce a uniform policy.”

Explore Law

• Columnists

• Law Panel

• Law Reports

• Student Law

Times Recommends

• BGC 'set aside £40m to lure Tullett brokers'
• Legal aid review to ensure value
• Fears as 21 magistrates' courts face closure