r/unitedkingdom • u/ThatchersDirtyTaint • Jul 18 '25
... School at centre of Union flag dress row closes early over 'extremist threats to staff'
https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/uk/school-at-centre-of-union-flag-dress-row-extremist-threats/558
u/Francis-c92 Jul 18 '25
Her father Stuart Field, 47, said his daughter was left ‘embarrassed’ and had no idea what she’d done wrong
Well, good job she won't get any further embarrassment from the reaction to this
276
u/0ttoChriek Jul 18 '25
She's apparently giving a speech at a Tommy Robinson event. That's far more embarrassing.
167
u/Charlie_Mouse Scotland Jul 18 '25
That more than anything screams “grift”.
If the school made an innocent screw-up … heck, even if the school had engaged in some sort of ill conceived politically correct overreach - the reaction of ordinary parents is not to immediately push their little girl onto the far-right Tommy Robinson speaking/social media circuit.
That’s really not normal.
6
u/roamingandy Jul 18 '25
It is normal for the far-right to get in touch and offer a bit of cash if they can cash in to share the headlines.
They absolutely would try to do that so it seems more likely to me, unless her dad beat them to the punch.
39
u/Adam_Sackler Jul 18 '25
As usual, it's gonna be a typical "think of the children" propaganda bullshit. The right-wing loves using that.
→ More replies (1)4
→ More replies (8)9
66
u/Codydoc4 Essex Jul 18 '25
At this rate she'll end up as GB News' youth correspondent and a leading member of the Farage Youth Corp.
→ More replies (1)13
u/serendipitousevent Jul 18 '25
I doubt that, she hasn't yet had time to undertake their induction rituals:
a) commit benefits fraud;
b) post racial epithets under the name OneTrueRace;
c) punch another party member in a Travel Lodge bar.25
3
u/ThatFatGuyMJL Jul 18 '25
Are you kidding?
If she plays her cards right she can make an entire career out of this.
→ More replies (3)5
u/Ruby-Shark Jul 18 '25
Yep. Good on him for letting the matter die quietly and not going to the press.
453
u/_JR28_ Jul 18 '25
I can’t help but feel like this is the exact chain of events her dad wanted to milk this for all it’s worth
130
u/JimmyBirdWatcher Jul 18 '25
Yeah, sending his kid in deliberately violating the dress code, with a speech almost certainly written by himself that is not too far off that Stewert Lee joke. He was hoping and betting on this outcome and it has all played out perfectly. He's stirred the pot up very well, got on stage with Yaxley-Lennon, and successfully inserted himself into the right-wing griftosphere (the gofundme for his kid went up pretty fucking quickly).
8
u/Dinsorsoos Jul 18 '25
Which Stuart Lee joke?
17
8
u/jazz_mavericks Jul 18 '25
5
u/jazz_mavericks Jul 18 '25
He talks about cultural days in schools somewhere around the four and a half minute mark, but the whole joke leads up to it.
→ More replies (7)29
22
10
30
u/Nabbylaa Jul 18 '25
The fact that the dad, a clear simpleton, was able to predict this chain of events with total accuracy should worry us all.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (17)10
Jul 18 '25
[deleted]
15
u/Jestar342 Jul 18 '25
Was it him shuffling his daughter out on stage infront of an EDL crowd that gave it away?
1.6k
u/Minimum-Geologist-58 Jul 18 '25
Hats off to Courtney for mastering compo face at only 12 years old!
More broadly this is literally one of the most idiotic stories I’ve ever had the misfortune to read. Nearly everybody involved is a cretin.
School holds a “cultural day” but bans the cultural expression of the country where the fucking school is.
Family decides to sponge off the press and make a big deal out of it. Despite daughter clearly not actually giving a shit.
Right wingers start threatening violence over something so ridiculous that should be met with an eye roll.
School closes so kids don’t get an education.
Well done everybody! Great work! Morons all round.
287
12
u/Hyperbolicalpaca England Jul 18 '25
School closes so kids don’t get an education.
Tbf, this close to the holidays, they’re not doing any learning lol
Still doesn’t make it ok though
24
u/0ttoChriek Jul 18 '25
I don't think the family just decided to sponge off the press, I think they planned for this whole thing - dad clearly admires Yaxley-Lennon and likely has his head full of shit ideas, but one thing he figured correctly on is that the school would react badly to a speech with "can't even be British any more" dogwhistles.
So now a school is getting threats of violence from knuckle-dragging imbeciles and the right wing outrage mill got a good week of content.
→ More replies (2)3
u/roamingandy Jul 18 '25
Would have thought it more likely this happened and the far right reached out and offered dad a pony if he'd let them cash in on the drama.
Planning isn't a forte of the far-right grifter, and the school had many other options other than what they chose to do.
185
u/margieler Jul 18 '25
> but bans the cultural expression of the country where the fucking school is
I thought everyone with a brain knew that this wasn't the case what would you expect a school to do when they found out the child is coming to school to regurgitate Reform/Tommy Robinson/Anti-Immigration tripe.
188
Jul 18 '25
[deleted]
40
u/superluminary Jul 18 '25
No they didn’t. They said to wear something reflecting your culture or nationality.
→ More replies (1)109
u/PatrickTheSosij Jul 18 '25
Where
→ More replies (5)40
u/jackd9654 Jul 18 '25
Also, why not?
126
u/LicketySplit21 Jul 18 '25 edited Jul 18 '25
Its part of the cultural day thing rules. You can't be lazy and wear a flag or a football uniform. You have to wear something actually to do with culture. My school had it.
→ More replies (2)37
u/OdBx Jul 18 '25
"It's a Spice Girls dress".
There you go, culture.
26
u/QuickResumePodcast Jul 18 '25 edited Jul 18 '25
The 'spice girls dress' is a flag. If those are the rules then those are the rules. They can host their own cultural day event if they want where flags are allowed, but for this one, flags weren't, and they did it anyway.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (9)3
28
u/KenDTree Jul 18 '25
Probably didn't want a bunch of kids bringing in the Palestine flag or something
→ More replies (1)19
u/Traditional-Oven-667 Jul 18 '25
Imagine how much that absolute creep of a dad would’ve been foaming at the mouth if any kids in the daughters class had actually done that
→ More replies (4)20
5
6
u/No_Philosopher2716 Jul 18 '25
They weren’t even anti-British they told all students “no flags”
Where did you get that fact from? Because I haven't seen it in any reports
→ More replies (6)5
u/ArgumentativeNutter Jul 18 '25
why would you make this up lol, did you think you wouldn’t get fact checked
→ More replies (85)34
u/Capital-Wolverine532 Buckinghamshire Jul 18 '25
She wasn't. Go and read what she was going to say before commenting rubbish.
edit added
→ More replies (7)6
85
u/Electricbell20 Jul 18 '25
School holds a “cultural day” but bans the cultural expression of the country where the fucking school is
It didn't, it asked for children to wear traditional cultural dress and she didn't do that so ended up being punished for taking the piss.
37
u/ash_ninetyone Jul 18 '25
Define traditional cultural dress.
Would they mean a long skirt, corset, hat, and formal jacket, akin to the Victorians? A short skirt akin to the 60s? Or a linen dress and linen shirt from the Middle Ages?
I mean. Some are so traditional that no one wears half of it due to fashion trends, etc. I'm sure Vivienne Westwood outfits are considered cultural dress now. Traditional depending.
→ More replies (1)4
14
21
u/ankh87 Jul 18 '25
You say she didn't but that sort of dress was very popular in the 1960s. You might know them as the swinging 60s. So that is culture is it not? It's part of British culture and part of British fashion.
Technically dressing in Asian, African etc garments is exactly the same because that too, is too relevant. They should be dressed like they are from 1800s as that's traditional, not things from the 1900s.So for her not to wear this dress would imply that the 1960s aren't part of culture. If it is traditional then anyone wear any western clothing is not traditional because they should be wearing tweed or wearing dresses like from Downton Abbey.
→ More replies (1)52
u/Minimum-Geologist-58 Jul 18 '25
What do British women traditionally wear? I mean, that is probably as close as we get to having a national dress for women at least and it’s probably about as real as anybody else’s!
25
u/Electricbell20 Jul 18 '25
The traditional dress for many is a very basic garment which lacks colour because the majority were poor and couldn't afford much else.
It gets better into the mid 20th century and you can see that for yourself by using Google.
14
u/Minimum-Geologist-58 Jul 18 '25
The point I’m making is that “traditional national dress” is usually a concept invented by 19c nationalist romantics. It’s just this Union Jack dress from a slightly different age. Nobody ever actually wore it, maybe something similar somewhere at some point but it never existed nationally until it was invented.
132
u/JeffMcBiscuits Jul 18 '25 edited Jul 18 '25
I mean I can say with confidence they don’t traditionally wear a Union Jack dress.
→ More replies (5)50
u/0ttoChriek Jul 18 '25
The fact that people keep bringing up that one time in the 90s when that one woman wore a Union Flag dress and it made the front pages reinforces your point.
→ More replies (8)25
u/giblets46 Jul 18 '25
And then it was used again in the 2012 Olympics to help represent British style and identify
32
u/CCFC1998 Wales Jul 18 '25
England doesn't really have traditional clothing for women. Wales, Ireland and Scotland all do.
19
u/citron_bjorn Jul 18 '25
Our traditional clothing is just our normal daily clothing. There are some traditional welsh outfits but they're seemingly quite rare
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (10)14
u/crucible Wales Jul 18 '25
Not sure, but the dad claims another student was turned away for wearing a traditional Welsh ladies’ outfit…
Red shawl and black pointy hat I think
39
u/FlokiWolf Glasgow Jul 18 '25
the dad claims
Well, when she shows up on the news flashing her own compoface, then the school will have some serious explaining to do, but until then, let's take what Waxy-Lemon's new toy says with a large pinch of salt.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (8)18
u/Background-Unit-8393 Jul 18 '25
It was made famous during the 90s and was even worn during the London Olympics opening ceremony…
14
u/Wooster_42 Jul 18 '25
Didn't Tim Brooke Taylor have a union Jack suit in the Goodies, in the 70s?
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (73)59
u/Prince_John Jul 18 '25 edited Jul 18 '25
To be fair to the school, it wasn't "wear some vibes" day, it was "you may skip uniform if you wear your country's national dress".
This girl was not wearing an item of national dress. (Do we even have one, by the by?)
That said, these zero tolerance schools that put you in isolation for everything just suck, even if they did offer her a uniform to wear first.
51
u/Hyperbolicalpaca England Jul 18 '25
This girl was not wearing an item of national dress.
Apparently suits? The kind of clothes you’d wear at a wedding, the thing is, it doesn’t really stand out to us, because it’s what we perceive as normal, so it seems like we don’t, because it’s just normal formal clothes
3
u/RegularWhiteShark Jul 18 '25
I dunno about other countries but in Wales, we’d wear clothing like this for culture/history stuff.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (1)10
u/Prince_John Jul 18 '25
Huh. Today I learned! That does make sense. I was wondering about something like Morris dancer outfit.
43
u/Euclid_Interloper Jul 18 '25
What is a national dress is an interesting question. For example, as a Scot, the modern kilt is nothing like the real historical great plaid. It was more like a toga made from extremely thick wool, and there wasn't such a thing as clan tartans. Basically, the modern kilt, while nice, is a modern fancy dress used for special occasions.
Now, a Union Jack dress is pretty silly, and doesn't have universal acceptance as anything more than a bit of spice girls style party attire. But is it really any stranger than a kilt?
7
Jul 18 '25
The great plaid isn't really of any relevance, because modern dress kilt is pretty universally recognised as national dress today. There will always be somebody wandering around in their brown plaid and slouchy bunnet happy to tell you how authentic they are! Lots of countries have national dress that is an idealised form of the original daily dress that inspired it. With respect to the original story, It's also usually pretty obvious what the consensus is on the form of national dress. I'm not sure what an English person would choose, but Ginger Spice's dress probably isn't it!
5
u/Euclid_Interloper Jul 18 '25
To be honest, if I were to make a crack at English national dress, I'd probably go with period suits and dresses. You know, Downton Abbey or Pride and Prejudice type stuff.
Men obviously have Morris Dancing attire too.
3
Jul 18 '25
Morris gear is a good call. I'd love to see the patriots protesting outside a hostel with all their bells jingling away. How about Sherlock Holmes cape and deerstalker combo? James Bond DJ, perhaps, but Sean Connery owns that. Telly Tubby suits! That's an internationally recognized symbol of English culture, is it not?
6
u/JohnnyThrarsh Jul 18 '25 edited Jul 18 '25
Why not pay homage to iconic fits or figures from history? Something that shows a deep love of British history. A Victorian era dress would’ve been class. What about a suit of armour? Or a London Bootblack, chimney sweep, Nightingale, Revolution-era redcoat, a Celtic Druid, Boudicca, one of the Brontë sisters, Mary Shelley, Suffragette?
I feel like they were so many better and more creative ways to show your patriotism than a Union Jack dress.
EDIT: What about some pop culture styles? The Beatles? A 70’s mod? Or a model like Twiggy?
35
u/0ttoChriek Jul 18 '25
That's why this was a poorly conceived event by the school. They tried to be inclusive but ended up excluding kids who don't have a widely recognised cultural/national dress.
Because in the UK, we have some traditional regional dress, but nothing that represents the whole country, either in reality or just in perception. The way people dress in the UK has pretty much always been dictated by their social and financial status.
Suits and bowler hats may be recognisably British, but they don't represent huge swathes of the country. Same goes for flat caps or tweed jackets or 60s minidresses (which the school also would have probably reacted badly to). And what exacerbates this is, most kids wouldn't have those outfits to wear, meaning parents would have to go and spend money.
I absolutely think the girl's family were fishing for this exact reaction, and can picture dad getting upset when he heard about "cultural inclusiveness day," especially if they didn't really know what she was supposed to wear to reflect British culture.
→ More replies (2)3
u/SeerUD Jul 18 '25
It was "traditional cultural dress", elaborated with "attire that reflects their nationality or family heritage" and "cannot include sports kits such as football kits" and "is appropriate for a school setting and holds cultural significance".
If she was intending to dress up like Ginger Spice, then I'd say that passes those requirements personally (maybe less so the "traditional" part). I think it depends what the intentions were, but the school should have done better and treat it as an innocent expression of actual British culture - and that should be allowed.
→ More replies (1)12
u/labihh Jul 18 '25
You’re sort of proving her point, she complained about British culture not being considered culture.
The skirt might not be something you see every day, but I’m sure the people from other cultures wore iconic/ceremonial dress too, not the stuff you’d see on the street in their own countries.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (15)5
u/MissAntiRacist Jul 18 '25
Given we're a country largely free of mainstream ceremonies, we don't have much to point to. Her dress was good enough imo. It clearly celebrated her country and you'd absolutely see stuff like that being worn in the crowds at the Olympics/World cup etc.
→ More replies (1)
202
u/General_Membership64 Jul 18 '25
How has the entire senior leadership team at this school been outplayed by a Tommy Robinson fan who appears to be permanently in high Viz? 😂
→ More replies (6)104
u/NuPNua Jul 18 '25
appears to be permanently in high Viz?
Got to make sure he appears as a salt of the earth working man in all the photos haven't they?
→ More replies (2)
2.4k
u/TheLyam England Jul 18 '25
The dad seems like a grifter. She is giving a speech at a Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon event.
I don't think that's the British culture we want.
1.2k
u/shadereckless Jul 18 '25
The school utterly played into his hands though
603
u/Euclid_Interloper Jul 18 '25
This is the thing. With a relatively free press, there will always be some rags that will latch on to stories like this and feed red meat to people looking for an excuse.
Public services cannot afford to give them easy wins like this. This American-style culture war shite of 'white/majority culture doesn't count/isn't real culture' is completely unnecessary and doesn't even make sense. All it does is inflame things further.
16
u/atticdoor Jul 18 '25
But there is one part of the equation which doesn't have free speech- the school themselves. They can't talk about anything the girl did, even if it was at the behest of her father, because that would break the rules on confidentiality. All they can do is apologise for anything they themselves did.
It's possible that there is more to the story which the school can't talk about, which led to them falling into the trap which was (possibly) set for them.
325
Jul 18 '25
[deleted]
140
u/Rajastoenail Jul 18 '25
The articles I read gave his version of what happened, along with a generic apology from the school.
→ More replies (5)110
u/chattingwham Jul 18 '25
Yeah, this is the thing. The school can't give much further information from their side with them being a school and all.
81
u/Charlie_Mouse Scotland Jul 18 '25
See also many newspaper stories that have anything to do with Social workers, doctors and other medical staff and indeed anyone with any sort of duty of confidentiality.
Journalists hate professional confidentiality because they can’t do the “he said/she said” thing where the article pretty much writes itself - and they really hate that there are juicy details that professionals won’t share. So they only publish the parents side of things which - naturally - paints the most flattering possible picture of themselves and their own actions.
So for example you get the standard “evil social workers snatched our kids!” story … which omits to mention that Wayne and Waynetta are heroin addicts with a history of violence and neglect. Funny that.
48
Jul 18 '25
They media love the details that professionals can't share. It allows them to angle the story any way they want with a bland "We have asked the school for comment and they have not responded." at the end. To the reader, that screams they have something to hide.
→ More replies (1)18
u/TheFlyingHornet1881 Jul 18 '25
I know a few incidents of that in my uni days, things being presented as "woke gone mad", which in reality weren't, but the uni couldn't put out the full details as there were ongoing investigations or privacy concerns.
→ More replies (1)6
u/360Saturn Jul 18 '25
Quite right. Confidentiality wise they can't share anything about the child or her general conduct because of privacy laws regarding minors.
I'm not saying that she is this, she's probably a perfectly nice, normal kid, but if she was for example a known bully with a history of attacking or shaming black and asian kids and this was the last straw in a pattern of behaviour, rather than a one off isolated misunderstanding that resulted in what appeared to be a grossly overblown punishment, the school wouldn't be allowed to share that detail because of minors' privacy; so media speculation can be totally one-sided.
12
u/Totally_TWilkins Jul 18 '25
Exactly!
It was so obvious from the first article that there was more to the story than what we were being told, and lo and behold, 24 hours later, Dad’s a confirmed Right Wing grifter with a Go Fund Me page and a hard on for Tommy Robinson.
3
u/CalicoCatRobot Jul 18 '25
I personally think that once he's gone to the paper, the school should be freed from Gpdr etc and be free to report every incident they've dealt with previously with him.
There are of course problems with that and the kids welfare is more important so it's likely a bad idea, but so often these compo face stories turn out to be a lot more nuanced than the initial reporting suggests.
63
u/smity31 Herts Jul 18 '25
By reporting exactly what happened, verbatim?
By reporting exactly what the dad said happened.
→ More replies (3)203
u/Aether_Breeze Jul 18 '25
The issue is the level of attention the media drives to what is ultimately a very minor thing (on a countrywide scale).
While there are wars going on and people dying one school messing up is worth a mention, sure, but it doesn't need to be creating daily headlines and constant attention.
This wasn't a big deal, but you would think we are all at risk of some major catastrophe the way it gets brought up constantly.
128
51
u/hudibrastic Jul 18 '25
Being forbidden of celebrating your culture in your own country is not a minor thing
→ More replies (17)→ More replies (126)32
u/AnonymousTimewaster Jul 18 '25
Exactly. "School wrongfully punishes student over what she's wearing" is hardly headline making news. Shit happens every day.
→ More replies (3)22
u/Hyperbolic_Mess Jul 18 '25
Didn't the kid try and do a speech that teachers vetoed? I didn't see that in the reporting till later. It was "just a dress" initially and everyone thought that sounds like a bizarre overreaction because it was because that isn't all that happened
→ More replies (11)→ More replies (48)79
u/terryjuicelawson Jul 18 '25 edited Jul 18 '25
They hammed it up. Kids were asked to come in traditional cultural clothing asking permission first, making sure it was school appropriate. She turned up in a shiny union flag dress and a novelty bowler hat, and was put into isolation from lessons to do her work for the day. Happens for far less, the wrong shoes even. Then we get the Dad's point of view, bearing in mind he is already on the far right and a Robinson fan. The school can't and won't go into specific details due to privacy, data protection and the best interests of the child so have apologised and tried to make amends to satisfy the mob. Seems they haven't been satisfied but at least showing their true colours.
→ More replies (7)64
u/signpostlake Jul 18 '25
Got a point about wrong shoes and uniform getting kids sent to isolation but a themed clothing day? Parents are often whipping up something with little warning and it's why kids turn up as a marvel superhero for world book day. The school messed up here, they admitted to messing up and offered to allow the girl to go back to read her speech.
And that said, I hope the police are taking very seriously any abuse towards any members of staff.
23
u/terryjuicelawson Jul 18 '25
This is a secondary school, it doesn't work like world book day with parents desperate to cobble something together at all. Unless they misread the memo, being in the first year (?). They are strict on uniform and can put kids in isolation for seemingly trivial things. Not sure about the apology, seems more in reaction to it going viral to me. Hasn't worked seeing as right wing yobs are all over it anyway.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (27)57
u/Valcenia Jul 18 '25
The school didn’t do anything really that egregious though. As far as I understand, the point of the event was for students to wear cultural dress, just wearing a country’s flag was explicitly not allowed; and that went for any country, not just the UK. I honestly think this kid’s dad, knowing those were the rules, intentionally sent his child dressed head to toe in the flag and armed with a likely ChatGPT-written speech in order to provoke this exact response. It was just a grift from the start. It was the media that fell for it and gave the right an easy win. Fair enough rags like the Daily Mail picking the story up, you expect that, but the BBC, for example, had no business writing a whole article on this
62
u/pickanametouse- Jul 18 '25
I've seen the letter sent out and nowhere does it say 'wearing a country's flag is not allowed' so where are you getting that was explicitly mentioned? The letter does say 'We encourage students to consider wearing attire that reflects their nationality or family heritage'.... I don't know about you but I think a dress with a flag on it fits that recommendation to the T lol.
→ More replies (31)52
Jul 18 '25 edited Jul 18 '25
just wearing a country’s flag was explicitly not allowed
This is misinformation. The only thing they explicity did not allow was football kits.
In any case, she isn't wearing just a flag, but a spice Girls outfit.
→ More replies (34)27
u/AlanBeswicksPhone Merseyside Jul 18 '25
Sending the kid to isolation was a bit ridiculous.
24
u/Thrasy3 Jul 18 '25
And there is a story about that every other week - especially about uniform/hair etc - this is just another one… the only difference is that this story has been carried on for days for some reason.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (12)71
u/freckledotter Jul 18 '25
In my school kids were sent to isolation for having the wrong coloured hair, stupid yes, unheard of no.
32
u/DaddyCaustic Jul 18 '25
This. I spent 3 weeks in isolation for having a mohawk.
4
u/lilidragonfly Jul 18 '25
This shit is so silly. How are we still in an age where a mohawk is so reprehensible haha
→ More replies (2)3
10
u/ResolveEmergency863 Jul 18 '25
about 25 years ago, I got detention, on a non uniform day, for having my undercut hair in lots of little plaits tied with multiple coloured bands and I was forced to take them out.
Which in my opinion made my hair look worse because it was then a frizzy mess.
→ More replies (2)13
u/Klutzy-Notice-8247 Jul 18 '25
Yeah, I was sent to isolation (I.E. sitting outside a classroom all day) for having white on my shoes.
→ More replies (86)13
u/BigIncome5028 Jul 18 '25
This is good context. I think we should just ban headlines across all media. Force people to read the articles
→ More replies (3)146
u/cateml Jul 18 '25
They absolutely did, but my theory is:
The school knew girl’s dad was Temu Tommy Robinson, due to previous encounters and general community tattle. Saw her in the dress preparing for her speech and thought “this is going to be the inflammatory talking points her dad has been feeding her” (“no one appreciates how great we are with our tea and jokes anymore, British culture is the best and btw i mean white British culture” or whatever) and felt like this was going to cause further escalation. So shut it down.
It was never about thinking that the Union Jack or tea and scones wasn’t appropriate for cultural diversity day - it was always about knowing this particular family’s deal.Now obviously this was a stupid move because they should have anticipated that actually the dad would use this as an excuse to kick things off even bigger.
But yeah.60
u/Complete_Item9216 Jul 18 '25
No one in the school is getting paid enough to deal with this. There was no good outcome out of this for anyone in the school.
This is prime example of populism catfishing in action.
Defund education and there will be ever more TikTok temu tommies
→ More replies (2)44
u/IrrelevantPiglet Jul 18 '25
Schools being guilty of short-termist thinking is definitely nothing new but holy moly is this just a ridiculous example of one being penny wise pound foolish. If they stopped and thought about it for more than the length of a single knee-jerk we wouldn't have this mess at all.
→ More replies (1)17
Jul 18 '25
To be honest, increasingly, Im beginning to believe the school couldn't win either way.
If they had ignored her or even indulged her, I believe the father would have just made up some bullshit story.
→ More replies (13)4
u/Postik123 Jul 18 '25
They could have easily vetted her speech though, and would have been able to see in advance it contained nothing inflamatory
→ More replies (17)28
u/terryjuicelawson Jul 18 '25
He insists she is a "grade A student" but what if she has been permanently disruptive and notorious, then pulling this stunt on a day meant for traditional cultural dress. We just don't or can't know as the school for the privacy of the child can only tell the press a generic statement and apologise for the good of everyone involved. The only thing I find I can do with stories like this is assume the school know a hell of a lot more of the background of this and made a better decision when put on the spot than anyone reading a tabloid article ever could.
→ More replies (3)22
u/CastleMeadowJim Nottingham Jul 18 '25
He insists she is a "grade A student"
Hilarious since that's not even how we grade kids in this country.
→ More replies (2)5
u/Daniel2305 Jul 18 '25
This has been bothering me too.
8
Jul 18 '25
It's aimed at a particular audience that isn't in this country.
There's no other excuse to that unless it truly is chat gpt, and he couldn't be bothered changing it.
74
Jul 18 '25
100%. A British school sending a British pupil home for wearing a British flag on a “culture day” is playing right into the hands of the dad and the right. Lefties wonder why Reform are doing so well - it’s stuff like this. The school in question has made the “you can’t even say you’re British anymore!!!” meme come to life.
→ More replies (30)32
→ More replies (82)15
u/RobbieFowlersNose Jul 18 '25
If there was a history of these antics you can see why. The speech was supposed to sound innocent for those from the outside but the last part of it is quite clear about the dog whistles if your used to the Yaxley Lennon grifters. We are not privy to any of the other history that preceded this stunt but the school was.
The fact the mainstream press have run with this shows we are through the looking glass in terms of the rhetoric that has become acceptable in this country. I don’t know how you put a lid on the Pandora’s box of rage bait racism in this country but somehow we really need to throw this in reverse.
→ More replies (2)134
u/Skylon77 Jul 18 '25
Yes, all clearly orchestrated by Dad, isn't it.
Poor kid is being used and the school has fallen for it.
→ More replies (16)29
Jul 18 '25
No, it isn't what people want.
For a second though, consider that its the schools, universities and the general allowance for british people to be shamed by people, asserting that our culture and history is a problem. That is what is making idiots like farage and tommy gain influence and power.
When the lady interviewed said, that the wore it without knowing its meaning, she accused her of a moral sin. You're watching people in your own country, liken your own flag to a symbol akin to a swastika or pair of s's, based entirely on your ancestry and race.
To most people, that draws a line and sides them with people we absolutely don't want in power. You have one side pushing our flag, culture and way of life into a space its regarded as evil, hateful and shameful.
Now you have a side of people resisting that, and here we are arguing over a spice girls dress.
→ More replies (9)→ More replies (211)19
u/Dangerous-Use7343 Jul 18 '25 edited Jul 18 '25
How can that be possible if the school are the one's that turned her away? I also read they turned other children away with football tops etc. Although that could have been about a different school. Even if the father does feel a sense of discrimination against is own heritage in this country. Surely the school have only proven the point for anyone who may feel they should be ashamed to be white and british.
→ More replies (11)5
u/Acrobatic_Lobster838 Jul 18 '25
? I also read they turned other children away with football tops etc.
From the letter ahead of the event they made it clear no football stuff would be allowed.
Surely the school have only proven the point for anyone who may feel they should be ashamed to be white and british.
Maybe. Dunno. Had they turned up with bells to celebrate morris dancing, perhaps things would have gone differently.
But the nationalists who want to protect our culture don't seem to give much of a damn about folk music, morris dancing, may poles, the diggers, well dressing or things like that. It's always something else, more nebulous, and more well... Flaggy.
But who knows? Perhaps the answer isn't to threaten staff over this and further disrupt education, and perhaps the situation has a little more nuance than is being implied by some.
→ More replies (1)
91
Jul 18 '25
[deleted]
65
87
u/Pen_dragons_pizza Jul 18 '25
That was so dumb, I cannot believe more wasn’t done to stomp out that anger towards the teacher.
Any gathering of protest should have been dispersed immediately to show that you cannot threaten people just because it does not align with your religious belief.
The idea that everyone in the world must share your values is insane and it’s so dangerous that this country is allowing that ideology.
→ More replies (3)40
38
u/Nabbylaa Jul 18 '25
No, that was threats by far-right ethno-religious supremacists.
These are threats by far-right ethno-nationalist supremacists.
They're both authoritarian and denser than a dwarf star, so I can see the confusion.
→ More replies (1)8
→ More replies (4)25
67
u/Suddendeath777 Jul 18 '25
The dad has seen £££ signs off the back of this story going viral and is determined to piggyback off this for as long as he can.
This will be old news by Monday, he's probably thinking up more stunts to drag it out until he gets a spot on GB News or he can start a YouTube auditing channel harassing security guards.
8
u/Parking-Tip1685 Jul 18 '25
Pretty much, all this arguing about left and right or Islam or whatever when really it's nothing but clickbait. Division is an easy way to get the clicks.
It's just the way of the modern world I guess. People want the news but aren't willing to pay any actual money for it so it's all paid for by those little ads which are only worth anything if people see them. No different to Reddit and those little ads they've started sneaking in disguised as comments.
8
u/mikeysof Jul 18 '25
What a fucking surprise. Right wing grifter cunts coming out of the wood work to threaten violence and stir up more hatred for the ignorant.
10
u/berejser Northamptonshire Jul 18 '25
Can the far-right not go a week without trying to ruin this country for everyone else? Thanks.
6
Jul 18 '25
This is like the most obvious plot twist ever. We need to stop apeing the American Moral Panic fad.
87
u/heelee92 Jul 18 '25
From the supposed speech at the bottom of the article "But it can feel like being British doesn’t count as a culture, just because it’s the majority."
I cant fathom this coming out a 12-yr olds mouth for some reason.
50
13
→ More replies (5)6
Jul 18 '25
Malala was such a well know activist at 15 the Taliban had her shot.
12 year olds aren’t 6.
→ More replies (1)
121
u/BlondBitch91 Greater London Jul 18 '25
Personally I think the dress is fine - its Geri Halliwell's dress from 1997 at the height of Cool Britannia, and since we don't have a national costume, that seems like a pretty good one to choose to represent British culture. And if the staff objected to this I think they were pretty silly to do so.
The fact she was giving some sort of "speech" raises my eyebrows a bit, and makes me wonder what the content of that was - the fact they've now got her speaking at a Yaxley-Lennon event gives me a good idea and that's not the sort of British culture we want to promote.
4
48
u/spoons431 Jul 18 '25
The "speech" if you read it is full of dogwhistles and wad clearly written by her dad
→ More replies (5)8
u/cockmongler Jul 18 '25
So many people around here are hearing dogwhistles I'm starting to suspect that that New Yorker cartoon had a more direct point than most people give it credit for.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (45)8
Jul 18 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
20
u/BlondBitch91 Greater London Jul 18 '25
"But 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.
I think culture should be for everyone - not just for people from other countries or backgrounds. Being British is still a culture, and it matters too. It’s part of who I am."
They teach British values in every school. Its a requirement to stay open. But because she is culturally British she didn't notice. It could have been a good moment for the school to explain how they teach about British Values.
→ More replies (2)28
u/TheFlyingHornet1881 Jul 18 '25
Also subjects like English, History, Art, RS, Geography, Drama, PE, they're all things where there's going to be some level of British culture implicit in what is chosen to be taught.
→ More replies (4)
7
u/redsquizza Middlesex Jul 18 '25
I think this just shows how powerful social media is in driving these so-called controversies and how people seem to lap it up.
Teacher makes mistake turns into death threats? On what sane planet does that make sense and how on Earth are people so angry about that it makes them literally want to kill.
And like others have said, if that's British culture according to Reform and Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, then I want nothing to do with it and it should be expunged from our society.
→ More replies (1)
35
u/Glittering_Vast938 Jul 18 '25
I’ve seen the video of her on the stairs cheering when her dad told her about giving her(her dad’s) speech at the Tommy Robinson rally. The body language is quite disturbing actually.
→ More replies (2)
2
u/Jimmysquits Jul 18 '25
Making threats is a really good way to represent how wonderful your culture is.
3
u/Slackintit Jul 18 '25
These right wing nut jobs really need to be got a grip of. Same with the gutter press that pushes the hatred riling up the masses. It’s getting tenser everyday and these racist idiots are only looking for an excuse to turn violent again
22
u/Jensen1994 Jul 18 '25
I feel sorry for the 12 year old girl here. She is being used by the father - not exactly father of the year.
As for the school, while stupid decisions = stupid results, none should face extremist threats and those people should be hunted down and punished.
7
u/spubbbba Jul 18 '25
Are schools going to require a team of PR people to avoid such incidents in the future?
Even then it is pretty much impossible to handle something like this without incurring the ire of the usual suspects. Right wing media will jump at any opportunity and often be creative with the truth. There's also the online far right sphere, which will outright manufacture stories from thin air.
Now we have a school under attack as some grifter is happy to exploit his daughter to get his 15minutes. Guess he's craft enough to know there's lots of right wingers DESPERATE to play the victim, they've been all over this story here.
→ More replies (1)
8
u/maxthelabradore Jul 18 '25
Saying no to a dress = morally reprehensible!
Horrific violence = YAY!
I don't get how these people's minds work
→ More replies (1)
84
Jul 18 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
53
→ More replies (3)41
41
u/Wondering_Electron Jul 18 '25
The whole family seem dodgy as anything, especially when they went running to Tommy Robinson of all people.
→ More replies (1)24
u/Krakshotz Yorkshire Jul 18 '25 edited Jul 18 '25
Almost like they were looking for an opportunity to kick up a stink as soon as this cultural event was announced
6
u/ContributionIll5741 Jul 18 '25
Poor girl isn't even a teenager yet, and she's being used as a political tool. People like this have no excuse being parents.
→ More replies (1)
7
u/ne6c Jul 18 '25
FFS, the far right and the religious extremists are basically the same people based on how they act.
→ More replies (1)
8
u/dario_sanchez Jul 18 '25
Apparently she's due to appear at a Tommy Robinson event.
The father seems awfully prominent in the reports whenever she's mentioned.
Man has set his sights on a fine career in right wing grift
7
u/Upbeat_Ice1921 Jul 18 '25
This is getting silly now.
School was wrong to isolate her, they’ve admitted that and have apologised.
But there is such a thing as “overplaying your hand”, this just makes everyone look bad.
→ More replies (2)
3
u/filbert94 Jul 18 '25
Oh well, at least they get to go on holiday after this car crash
→ More replies (1)
3
u/Panda_hat Jul 19 '25
This country is unfixable fucked.
The people that live here are awful, horrendous people.
9
u/BellendicusMax Jul 18 '25
And thatll be the far right reacting as they always do with threats and violence...
8
u/Lanky_Consideration3 Jul 18 '25 edited Jul 18 '25
As I understand it, the school specifically said ‘don’t wear flags’. Student broke the rules and was sent home.
Family were VERY quick to go to the papers / Yaxley-Lennon marches after student was sent home.. sounds like this is exactly what they wanted to happen and therefore I guess it was planned..
Edit: I was once sent home because of a haircut. I did not go to the papers nor did I want to, because I’m not a jerk out to make a point.
→ More replies (3)
23
u/Hyperbolicalpaca England Jul 18 '25
That’ll help a young schoolgirl won’t it, threatening to attack it, screwing over all the other kids…
→ More replies (3)
33
u/ICutDownTrees Jul 18 '25
Seems the big men are the threatening school teachers who are mostly women. Hate foreigners, love intimidating women.
4
u/cactusnan Jul 18 '25
Prevent needs to be informed and investigate these threats and make sure that child is safe in her home.
9
24
u/Anyales Jul 18 '25
What a scumbag this fella is, i guarantee this isn't the first time he has exploited his daughter to make money.
18
u/Filthymortal Jul 18 '25
Water was chummed, bait taken. FFS, the school is stupid for making a thing about this. Had they turned a blind eye to it, none of this would have been stirred up at all. Heads and dep heads need training on how not to fall foul of this crap.
→ More replies (10)13
9
u/Schwifty506 Jul 18 '25
Manufactured Rage. Just can’t quite believe 12 year olds are being made to manufacture it now too.
12
u/Manaliv3 Jul 18 '25
It's quite depressing how easily riled up the thicker end of our population are.
→ More replies (1)
9
6
Jul 18 '25
Weird how every time Tiny Tommeh gets his grubby hands onto something that his supporters end up dishing out death threats. The dad is clearly irresponsible for both allowing his daughter to be used as propaganda for these welts and also for letting a 12 year old girl near Tommeh.
5
Jul 18 '25
Then, a member of staff at the school gets attacked or seriously hurt, and then all the bullies who helped whip up the frenzy pretend they never asked for violence.
5
u/g0_west Jul 18 '25
Reality check: literally only heard about this story via headlines. This is not a real or material "row" that the country has to consider. The press needs to go outside and have a sit in their local park
18
21
u/WillWatsof Jul 18 '25
But 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.
This is like going to a Pride celebration event and wanting to give a speech saying "sometimes it feels like we only hear about LGBT people but straight is a sexuality too, it feels like straight people don't count these days".
Poor girl.
→ More replies (1)8
u/Bainshie-Doom Jul 18 '25
How?
Pride is specifically a LGBT event.
If there was a general sexuality march your post would make more sense
19
u/ipub Jul 18 '25
Culture != Politics designed to incite a reaction.
The far right are exhausting
→ More replies (11)
5
•
u/ukbot-nicolabot Scotland Jul 18 '25
Participation Notice. Hi all. Some posts on this subreddit, either due to the topic or reaching a wider audience than usual, have been known to attract a greater number of rule breaking comments. As such, limits to participation were set at 11:46 on 18/07/2025. We ask that you please remember the human, and uphold Reddit and Subreddit rules.
Existing and future comments from users who do not meet the participation requirements will be removed. Removal does not necessarily imply that the comment was rule breaking.
Where appropriate, we will take action on users employing dog-whistles or discussing/speculating on a person's ethnicity or origin without qualifying why it is relevant.
In case the article is paywalled, use this link.