School which banned girl, 12, from ‘diversity day' for Union Jack dress closes early for summer over ‘extremist threats'
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THE SCHOOL which banned a girl from wearing a Union Jack dress has been forced to close following "extremist threats".
Courtney, 12, had chosen to wear the dress as part of the school's Culture Celebration day but was told the day was for "everybody else".
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Courtney was banned from wearing a Union Jack dress at her school
Credit: Roland Leon
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Now, the school has been shut down following 'extremist' threats
Credit: Roland Leon
Bilton School in Rugby, Warwickshire, announced that it was closing "in the interests of student and staff safety" following threats.
The school released a letter to parents on Thursday in which is said it was receiving "extremist abuse online and via our telephone systems".
Headteacher Jayne Delves and Ranjit Samra, CEO of Stowe Valley Multi-Academy Trust, both said that members of staff had been threatened.
The letter said that the "nature and tone" of the threats had escalated in recent days too.
The letter continued: "While we have been working closely with our multi-agency partners to address the situation, our primary responsibility remains the safety and wellbeing of every child and member of staff.
"This is not a decision we have taken lightly. We understand the disruption this may cause to your families and your child's education, but the safety of our school community must come first."
The abuse followed an online frenzy over Courtney's decision to wear the now controversial dress on her school's Culture Celebration Day.
Courtney had chosen the Union Jack dress in reference to the iconic outfit worn by Spice Girl Geri Halliwell.
However, she was allegedly told: 'You get to celebrate being British every day, this is for everybody else.'
The 12-year-old had planned to read a speech about tea, Shakespeare, fish and chips and the royals as part of her presentation.
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Courtney was offered the chance to wear second-hand uniform, instead of the dress she had chosen.
When she refused, her father, Stuart Field, arrived at the school and took her home.
Stuart said the school had issued an apology before slamming them for "virtue signalling".
He said: 'Her head of year bizarrely said that if she had worn a suit of armour or a nurse's outfit, she probably would have been allowed. It's ridiculous.
"The irony is they were having a cultural diversity day and yet they singled out a group of people.
'She's a grade-A student and they have vilified her and punished her for being proud of being British.'
Stuart added that another mum at the school told him that her son had been banned from wearing a farmer's outfit.
Ahead of the event, the school's headteacher had described the Culture Celebration day as an opportunity for "celebrating the rich cultural diversity within our school community".
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Bilton School in Rugby says that its members of staff have been 'threatened'
Credit: Roland Leon
In her speech, Courtney had hoped to say: 'We have lots of traditions including drinking tea, our love of talking about the weather and our Royal Family.
'We have amazing history, like kings and queens, castles and writers like Shakespeare.'
She was also planning on saying: 'Sometimes at school we only hear about other cultures — which is great because learning about different countries is interesting and important.
'But it can feel like being British doesn't count as a culture, just because it's the majority.'
Speaking out about the incident, a spokesperson for the school said: 'We deeply regret the distress this has caused and offer our sincere and unreserved apologies.
"We've 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 every student feels recognised and supported.'
Courtney's dad has also suggested that other children carrying flags belonging to Wales and England weren't allowed in either.
He said: "Another with a St George's flag and another with a Welsh flag were not allowed in either. It was ridiculous. It just seemed anything that was remotely British wasn't allowed.
"It's ironic they were having a cultural diversity day but then decided to single out a group of people."
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Courtney said that her dress was a reference to Geri Halliwell
Credit: PA
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