A 13-YEAR-OLD schoolgirl proved she was a cut above the rest as she faced the clippers in a brave challenge for charity.

Katie Ingram King, a Year 9 student at IPACA, is sporting a brand new look after she had her shoulder length hair completely shaved off with clippers and no guard.

She faced the challenge at Reflections hair salon on Wednesday to raise money for Help for Heroes and Cancer Research UK.

Katie said: "The hair shave was such a surreal experience and quite daunting, but I'm so glad I've done it and I don't feel too phased by it.

"I've got two new wigs to wear - one pink and one brown. This has inspired me to do further fundraising in the future and I'd like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has sponsored me or supported me."

The brave youngster had a fundraising target of £100 per charity but has raised £420 so far from the hair cut challenge, with sponsorship forms from Alf's Fish and Chips and other stores still to be collected.

Katie’s stepdad Tim King said: “Katie was inspired to do the charity hair cut as both these charities are causes close to Katie’s heart.

“She has family members who are suffering from cancer and other family members are in the armed forces.

“We are exceptionally proud of Katie, she excels at everything she does and in doing this head shave she has raised an incredible amount for two very worthwhile charities."

At the salon, Katie first had her hair put into two ponytails before they were cut off and her head was then shaved.

The ponytails will also be donated to The Little Princess Trust - a charity that provides free real-hair wigs to children across the UK that have lost their own hair through cancer treatment.

Katie also hit the headlines last year after publishing her first book ‘Created’ when her English teacher Rachel Stempien challenged her to take part in National Novel Writing Month.

Katie then took advantage of Amazon's direct publishing programme to share her work with a wider audience.

To donate to Katie’s hair cut challenge visit justgiving.com/Katie-ingram-king1