Hundreds of parents and former students at a Dorset school that banned a book have called for it to be reinstated, with one ex-pupil saying she and others felt “let down” by the decision.
The row focuses on a decision by Budmouth Academy in Weymouth to ban The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas from its year 10 reading list after a complaint from a parent. The award-winning novel is about a 16-year-old black American girl who lives in a poor and predominantly black neighbourhood and attends a wealthy mostly white school. She witnesses a fatal police shooting of an unarmed black friend.
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James Farquharson, a parent of two girls aged 12 and 14 at the school and a former Conservative councillor, complained about the explicit language and sexual references in the book and called for it to be withdrawn. Although the school removed the book from its year 10 reading list after the complaint, it is still accessible to older pupils.
In a letter to the school, which Farquharson posted on Facebook, he said: “You are teaching my daughters that their inherited skin colour makes then baddies. That is racism. By extension, you are also casting their country as a baddie. That is damaging to their self-esteem and the functioning of society.
“You should not be surreptitiously teaching this new form of Marxism to my children, hidden as it is within a work of fiction. If you want to expose them to that ideology, by law, you should be clear what it is and give fair treatment and equal prominence to its counter-arguments.”
A spokesperson for Budmouth Academy said: “We acknowledge that the novel raises important themes and is promoted as appropriate for readers that are aged 14+. However, after careful consideration, we have decided that there are alternative texts that raise similar themes which are better suited to our students in year 10.”
A second book, Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman, is under review after Farquharson complained that it explores sexual themes including female masturbation and was so “creepy” it raised safeguarding concerns. It is likely to remain on the curriculum as it is a prescribed text for GCSE English literature.
While Farquharson appears to be the sole parent who has publicly complained about the book, hundreds of students who recently left the school and parents have signed a Change.org petition calling for the book to be reinstated to classrooms. It highlights broader concerns about the implications of book banning.
Vicky McNab, a parent of four mixed-heritage children, two of whom attend the school and two who have left, started the petition. It says books like this one help students “develop empathy, critical thinking and an understanding of experiences beyond their own”. It adds: “Removing it from classroom reading denies young people the opportunity to engage with important issues that shape the world around them.
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“This decision does not only silence one book – it silences the voices and lived realities of minority communities. It sends a harmful message: that when these stories make others uncomfortable, they can be erased.”
McNab’s daughter Marli, who left the school in July and is now at college, said she had always felt well supported at the school. “That’s why it’s sad that the school have been pushed into a corner and now this whole thing feels like a step back, because it doesn’t match the inclusive values I felt when I was a student,” she said.
“When I heard The Hate U Give was taken off the list, I felt really disappointed. It’s such an important book because it gets people talking about real issues in a safe way. People have said they feel let down.
“The bigger problem is that it feels like one parent’s complaint has decided it for everyone, which isn’t fair. We should be trusted to handle these conversations. I can’t believe what’s happened.”
