LONDON — A British girl has accused her school in London's High Court of "religious discrimination" after she was expelled for refusing to remove the so-called Christian "purity ring."

"In the Bible it says you should remain sexually pure and I think this is a way I want to express my faith," 16-year-old Lydia Playfoot told the BBC on Friday, June 22.

"I think in the society we live in today with lots of pregnancies and STDs (sexually transmitted diseases), something like this is quite important and should be taken hold of."

Playfoot was told by Millais School in Horsham, south-east England, to remove her ring, which symbolizes chastity, or face expulsion.

Her school said the ring broke uniform rules and ordered her to remove it. When she refused, she was taken out of lessons and made to study on her own.

Playfoot's first application to the High Court was turned down last year, but judges agreed to hear it Friday after she appealed.

The BBC says a group of girls at Playfoot's school were wearing the rings as part of a movement called the "Silver Ring Thing."

Originating in America, the Silver Ring Thing promotes abstinence from pre-marital sex among young people.

The rings are inscribed with a reference to the biblical verse I Thess 4:3-4, which translates as: "God wants you to be holy, so you should keep clear of all sexual sin. Then each of you will control your body and live in holiness and honor."

The girl's father, Pastor Phil, and her mother are part of the volunteer team which runs the UK branch of the movement.

The organizers of the movement say as many as 25,000 young people have joined so far in the UK and that numbers are growing.

Religious Freedom

The girl's lawyer, Paul Diamond, told the High Court earlier on Friday the school's action was "forbidden" by law.

"Secular authorities and institutions cannot be arbiters of religious faith," Diamond said.

He said a question the judge would have to answer was: "What are the religious rights of schoolchildren in the school context?"

Diamond builds his client's case on Article Nine of the Human Rights Act, which guarantees freedom of religious expression.

Playfoot says Sikh and Muslim pupils can wear bangles and hijab in class.

But school's lawyers argue that the ring was not an obligatory religious symbol unlike bangles and hijab, which are integral to Sikhs and Muslims respectively.

They said a Christian pupil would be allowed to wear a crucifix.

Phil said his daughter considers the ring as integral part of her faith.

"I think there's something bigger at stake here," he told the BBC.

Playfoot has received messages of support from politicians, including former Conservative party chairman Lord Tebbit and Tory MP Ann Widdecombe.

She also has the backing of the Lawyers Christian Fellowship (LCF) which represents 2,000 Christian lawyers across the UK.

The teenager's legal action is the latest instalment in a long-running debate in Britain over the right to wear religious clothing or symbols in public.

Despite being told to remove her crucifix, 13-year-old Samantha Devine sued in January her school for denying her to wear the symbol of her devotion to God.

The father of a 12-year-old girl fought and lost his legal battle earlier this year for the right of his daughter to wear the full-face Muslim veil or niqab at her school.

Aishah Azmi, a 24-year-old Muslim teacher in Headfield Church of England junior school in Dewsbury, has been also sacked over her veil.

British Airways, the flag carrier, recently came under fire and boycott threats from devout Christians in and outside Britain for not allowing an employee to show her cross necklace.