Straight A student Courtney Wright, 12, who goes to Bilton School in Rugby, was left distressed over the weekend after getting in trouble over her Union flag dress, which the school deemed “unacceptable”

A school’s decision to exclude a young girl from diversity day has sent shockwaves through the country and even reached the door of Number 10.

Courtney Wright, a high-achieving 12-year-old who attends Bilton School in Rugby, was left feeling “so embarrassed” after turning up to the planned cultural celebration on Friday to be told her union flag dress was “unacceptable”.

Courtney had been excited to wear her Spice Girls-style dress – similar to the one worn by Geri Halliwell at the 1997 Brit Awards – to the event, which was designed to foster inclusivity and diversity at the school in Warwickshire

The youngster had also spent time preparing a speech on history and traditions, which she was told she would not be allowed to read and was forced to wait in the school’s reception until her dad could get off work to pick her up.

Her family blasted the school after learning she had been segregated from her friends due to her choice of attire, adding that the straight A student “couldn’t understand what she’d done wrong”.

Considering a permission letter sent to parents said the day was “designed to promote inclusion, understanding, and appreciation of different backgrounds”, many are stumped as to why the celebration of being British is not included.

Here’s everything we know about the row…

What happened?

Last Friday, Bilton School in Rugby held an “Inclusion Day”, in which students were asked to don an outfit which explored the “understanding” and “appreciation” of “different backgrounds, traditions and heritages”.

Courtney turned up wearing a dress modelled on the Spice Girls emblematic number, but was segregated from the rest of her classmates and forced to wait until midday before her dad could pick her up from school.

The school’s decision has sparked outrage among the local community and among Brits more generally, who can’t understand why the youngster was not allowed to celebrate her British heritage.

What has her family said?

Courtney’s outraged dad has been vocal about his anger over the school’s decision. Stuart, 47, who works in marine restoration, said he believes their actions went against the message of the day, and caused his daughter considerable distress over the weekend.

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

Many are calling on the headmistress to make an apology (Image: Stuart Field / SWNS)

He says that Courtney had no intention of making a political statement with the union flag – adding that, for her, it was simply “about being British, the Spice Girls and even the freedom at being able to wear a dress”.

“This is what being British means to her”, he added.

The dad continued: “It’s the school who have made it political and it went against everything the event was being held for. She chose the dress and wrote the piece off her own back. They day was to celebrate everyone’s cultures and Courtney chose this Union Flag dress so she could celebrate hers.

“She also wrote this speech to go with it and was very proud of what she’d done. The next thing I get a call at work at around 9am to say she’s not allowed in school dressed like that and that it was unacceptable.

“She’s a straight A student, one of the brightest in her year and she’s never been in trouble before so she was really upset. 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.”