A teenager banned from school after teachers told her she could not wear a dress bearing the Union Jack flag told a crowd of more than 110,000 protesters gathered in London that ‘British culture matters too’.
Courtney Wright, 13, was forced to spend a morning in isolation at Bilton School in Rugby, after staff told her she couldn’t wear her Spice Girls-style dress or make a speech like other pupils.
The straight-A student, who had planned to talk about history and traditions for a special Culture Day organised by the school in July, was told the dress was unacceptable, before being removed from her lesson and asked to wait in reception until her father arrived to collect her.
After being introduced by Robinson as a ‘brave little British girl’, Courtney walked onto the main stage where she was received by rapturous applause and whistles.
Telling the crowd she was ‘so proud to stand here today’, she said: ‘Even though I’m only 13 I already know how lucky we are to live in this country.
‘Britain is our home, it’s a place built on courage, sacrifice and freedom.
‘Millions before us fought to protect it and it’s our duty to love it, respect it and keep it strong.
‘We may be young but we are the future and together, with pride in our hearts, we will always stand for our great nation.’
Courtney Wright, 13, who was banned from school after teachers told her she could not wear a dress bearing the Union Jack flag told a crowd of more than 110,000 protesters in London that ‘British culture matters too’
Courtney Wright, 13, was forced to spend a morning in isolation at Bilton School in Rugby, after staff told her she couldn’t wear her Spice Girls-style dress or make a speech like other pupils
Bilton School in Rugby told Courtney the dress was unacceptable, before she was removed from her lesson and asked to wait in reception until her father arrived to collect her
She then told the crowd she had been ‘silenced’ by her school, adding ‘my voice didn’t count’.
A request to the audience if she could read out the speech she was meant to deliver to her classroom was met with exuberant cheering.
She began: ‘Today I want to talk about my culture, British culture and why it is important to me. In Britain we have lots of traditions including drinking tea, our love of talking about the weather and our royal family.
‘We have amazing history, kings and queens, castles and writers like Shakespeare. Its also modern, diverse and always changing.
‘We have music, fashion and food from all around the world blending into daily life – and lets not forget about fish and chips.
‘Its also the way we speak, our humour, our values of politeness and fairness and the mix of old traditions and new ideas.
‘Sometimes in school we only hear about other cultures, which is great because learning about different countries is interesting and important.
‘But you feel like being British doesn’t count as a culture, just because its a majority.
Courtney spoke at the protest today, where 110,000 people gathered to join Tommy Robinson’s Unite The Kingdom rally
Courtney was hauled out of lessons and made to sit in reception until her father Stuart Field (pictured) collected her
‘I think culture should be for everyone, not just people from different countries and backgrounds.
‘Being British is still a culture and it matters too. So let’s celebrate all cultures, whether they come from far away or right here at home.’
As she ended her speech, a hoarse-sounding Robinson encouraged the crowd to give their praise, adding: ‘Her parents must be so bloody proud.’
The youngster was one of many speakers on the main stage at the rally, which also generated a 5,000-strong counter-protest.
Organised by anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim activist Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, the Unite The Kingdom protest met at Stamford Street near London’s Waterloo Bridge before making its way to the southern end of Whitehall.
Swathes of demonstrators turned out bedecked in Union Jacks and England flags at the march – where protesters also vocally mourned Charlie Kirk after the conservative activist was shot dead on Wednesday.
At the rally, believed to be the largest right-wing protest in British history, some protesters were seen with photographs of Kirk and flags bearing his face.
Speakers included far-right politicians Eric Zemmour from France and Petr Bystron of Alternative for Germany (AfD), as well as controversial Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson.
Mr Field said Courtney wanted to wear the dress to celebrate being British and the Spice Girls, taking inspiration from Geri Halliwell (pictured) in her iconic dress
Commentator Katie Hopkins and TV personality Ant Middleton also attended, as well as former actor Laurence Fox.
Courtney Wright’s treatment at the hands of her school earlier this year provoked backlash among parents who said they were ‘disgusted and surprised’.
‘I couldn’t believe it when I saw it on social media,’ said one 44-year-old dad, whose 12-year-old daughter is in the same year as Courtney.
‘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?’
The incident prompted an apology from the school’s Stowe Valley Trust and reached Downing Street, with Sir Keir Starmer appearing to support the teenager.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said at the time: ‘The PM has always been clear that being British is something to be celebrated.
‘You can see that from everything this government has done. We are a tolerant, diverse, open country, proud of being British.’
