A school has scrapped a novel from its curriculum after it sparked a furious backlash from parents who accused it of promoting "white guilt".
Budmouth Academy in Weymouth, Dorset, removed "The Hate U Give", a 2017 novel written by American author, Angie Thomas.
The novel tells the story of a poor 16-year-old African-American girl at an elite, mostly white, private school before her childhood friend is shot and killed by a white police officer, leading to riots.
James Farquharson's 14-year-old daughter was studying the novel at the Dorset school when she flagged it to her father
The 53-year-old said: "I found out about this last week when my 14-year-old daughter said she and her peers were having to read [The Hate U Give] out aloud.
"She felt embarrassed and uncomfortable about it.
"I looked through it and read the first 150 pages and thought 'really?'
"It is full of bad language, it normalises sex and drugs, and is centred on identity politics, namely race, which blames her for her white skin...It is divisive and is centred on issues of blackness and whiteness."
Budmouth Academy in Weymouth, Dorset has scrapped the book
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Mr Farquharson penned a letter to the head teacher at Budmouth Academy seeking an urgent review of the titles on the school’s reading list.
He continued: "The school shouldn’t be addressing political issues with students unless they are going to balance it with the counter-arguments.
"It is neo-Marxism being slipped into our children’s minds, not by outright political lectures but via fiction.
"It is being incubated in their minds that there are goodies and baddies who in this case are the white kids."
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Angie Thomas with her book, "The Hate U Give"
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Mr Farquharson also flagged up an issue with his second daughter, aged 12, who was studying Stephen Kelman’s novel, Pigeon English.
The 2011 novel tells the story of an immigrant from Ghana living on a tough London estate, receiving critical acclaim and being nominated for the Man Booker Prize that year.
The dad flagged up one scene in the book where the main character is forced to place his hands down the pants of a woman and engage in a sexual act against his will.
He said: "It contains themes and language that one would hope 12-year-old kids wouldn’t be taught in school...A 12-year-old reading out passages about female masturbation is a massive safeguarding red flag."
Stephen Kelman with his critically acclaimed book 'Pigeon English'
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The dad made it very clear his objections were not about banning books, but instead about giving students access to books that are appropriate for their age.
Vicki Burgoyne, another parent, said: "Why are we making our future generations read such tripe?
"We need to educate and broaden their minds, not shrink them with street slang and brain-dead literature to shock them.
"Why are we trying to shock kids by giving them such things to think about? It’s really sad. No wonder child mental health, self-harm and suicide is at an all-time high if this is what’s filling their heads."
A spokesman for the school confirmed they would remove The Hate U Give from their curriculum, but would keep Pigeon English "under review.
They told The Telegraph: "Following a review of our Year 10 reading list, we have taken the decision to remove The Hate U Give.
"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, is under review but is likely to remain on the curriculum as it is a prescribed text for GCSE English literature by the exam boards."