Everything we know as girl, 12, placed in school isolation over Union Jack dress

A school's decision to exclude a young girl from diversity dayhas 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.

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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."

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."

He added that "if anything I was extremely proud of what she had chosen and what she had written in her speech", which he said spoke in detail about celebrating inclusivity and other cultures.

How have others reacted?

Stuart said that he was inundated with a flood of messages of support from "all over the world, from Poland to Australia" after sharing a post about the incident on Facebook.

At the school itself, the majority of parents are backing the family's position and feel it was wrong for the school to have excluded the youngster for wanting to celebrate her cultural identity.

Now, parents of the girl's schoolmates have spoken out, branding the episode "disgusting", while others noted the school had only specified that football strips would not be allowed.

"What kind of message does this send out to the local community?" one father asked.

"Cancelling a child because she's proud of her British heritage is outrageous. It's the head mistress who needs cancelling and who needs to stop hiding behind the school trust and make a public apology."

One dad, 44, whose 12-year-old daughter is in the same year as Courtney, told the MailOnline: "I couldn't believe it when I saw it on social media. It's disgusting if you think this was supposed to be about celebrating diversity. My daughter wore a tie made of the family tartan because we are Scottish and nothing was said about that.

"It's a medium multi-ethnic school and there were other pupils who wore traditional Asian dress and headwear which was acceptable, so why not allow a union flag dress?"

Downing Street steps in

The decision to punish her caused fury and PM Keir Starmer's spokesperson appeared to side with the schoolgirl and her family.

They said: “I think the school has put out a statement on this so I’m not going to comment further, but the Prime Minister has always been clear that being British is something to be celebrated.”

Has the school apologised?

The school's trust contacted Stuart over the weekend and have since apologised for the move.

A spokesman for Stowe Valley Trust said: "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 recognised 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."

However, some believe it's too little too late and are calling for the headmistress to make a public apology to the schoolgirl and her family.