12-Year-Old Girl Removed From Class Over British Flag Outfit On Culture Day

A 12-year-old British girl was removed from her class and her father was called after she simply wore a British flag dress on her school’s culture day.

“’Straight A’ student Courtney Wright wore the Spice Girls-esque dress and wrote a piece about British history and traditions as part of the celebrations on Friday,” The Telegraph reported. Informed her dress was “unacceptable” at Bilton School in Rugby, Warks, Wright was told to wait in an office for her father, Stuart Field, he said.

Courtney Wright a Grade A student went to her Bilton School on Culture Day in a Union Jack dress. She had also prepared a short essay on what being British means. The head sent her to sit in reception.

He father added: “She was told she wasn’t allowed in school with the dress on… pic.twitter.com/npNu72llqe

— David Atherton (@DaveAtherton20) July 15, 2025

“Courtney was so embarrassed and couldn’t understand what she’d done wrong,” Field stated. “She should not be made to feel embarrassed about being British. And she shouldn’t be punished for celebrating being British – nobody else I’ve spoken to can quite get their heads around it.”

“Somebody at the school has politicized a Union Jack dress even though that was clearly not Courtney’s intent,” he continued. “Courtney didn’t do anything to be political. It’s about being British, the Spice Girls and even the freedom at being able to wear a dress. This is just what being British means to her.”

The school had sent a permission letter to parents, explaining that the “culture day” was “designed to promote inclusion, understanding, and appreciation of different backgrounds, traditions and heritages.”

Field claimed that other pupils with St. George’s flags and Welsh flags were stopped from entering the school.

“It’s the school who have made it political and it went against everything the event was being held for. All the kids there are British in my eyes, I like to think I’m a tolerant person but this was just not right. I wanted an answer as to why they thought this was acceptable – and nobody could give me a straight answer, I wanted to know how they had justified it. I spoke to her head of year, and he said he wasn’t the best person to talk to about it, so I can only assume he didn’t really agree with it either. It obviously came from above him but I don’t know for sure who made the decision,” he concluded.

Courtney Wright said teachers informed her that “only other cultures were allowed to celebrate,” adding that she “felt really embarrassed” and teachers “point blank refused” to let her read her speech about British culture. “They didn’t want to hear it at all,” she said. “My speech was about diversity and all the traditions that we have in Britain – our politeness, our humor, we drink tea, we talk about the weather a lot and we like rugby and football. The school has since apologized. Even though the school has suggested reading my speech I don’t think I want to after how they embarrassed and upset me.”

The school that sent home a 12-year-old girl for wearing a Union Jack dress (@BiltonSchool) has also been pushing dangerous gender ideology on its young students.

Our children are being taught by activists, rather than educators. pic.twitter.com/tSdBojPv1v

— James Esses (@JamesEsses) July 15, 2025

Stowe Valley Multi Academy Trust issued a statement regarding the incident:

At Bilton School, we are proud of the diversity of our students and the rich heritage they bring to our community. We are committed to fostering an environment where every pupil feels respected, valued, and included.

On Friday 11th July, an incident occurred during our Culture Celebration Day that caused considerable upset to one of our pupils, her family, and members of the wider community. We deeply regret the distress this has caused and offer our sincere and unreserved apologies.

We have since spoken directly with the pupil and her family to listen to their concerns and reflect on how this could have been handled better. We are committed to learning from this experience and ensuring that every student feels recognized and supported when expressing pride in their heritage.

As a school, we are reviewing our policies and strengthening staff training to ensure our practices reflect our values of inclusion, respect, and understanding for all.