No hijab

In the case of the young girl who has been forbidden from wearing a hijab in school, I would not wish to be too unfair on the school which apparently has been very fair in it's dress code and the headteacher of which is apparently muslim. However, I hope the UK doesn't abandon it's traditional flexibility in legal matters to go down the french road of stubborn intolerance. Proof of UK flexibility can be seen in the fact, that despite uniforms still being the rule (whereas they no longer exist in France), this case is the first high profile case of a problem arising with a religious item of clothing in the UK. I didn't go beyond primary education in Britain, and my school had no muslims as far as I remember. However, is it rare for muslim girls to wear a headscarf to school in the UK? I would appreciate any input on this matter. Input from citizens of any other country is also welcome (including members of the commonwealth...).