Parents Outraged Over Controversial Book at Budmouth Academy

Budmouth Academy has come under fire from angry parents and local residents after it emerged that pupils are being taught The Hate U Give, a novel by Angie Thomas that contains explicit language and politically charged themes.

The book, which explores issues such as race, police violence and activism, has been widely promoted in schools across the UK. Supporters claim it is a powerful tool for raising awareness of social injustice. But many Budmouth parents say they are furious that their children are being exposed to coarse language and explicit phrases that they believe have no place in the classroom.

One passage in particular – featuring the phrase “suck my cock” – has been singled out by parents as completely inappropriate, especially for young girls in their early teens. “This isn’t education, it’s indoctrination,” one parent said. “Our children should be learning respect, discipline and decency, not being forced to read vulgar language that would get them punished if they repeated it at home.”

Concerns go beyond the crude language. Parents also argue the novel pushes a one-sided political message that paints the police in a negative light. They fear that impressionable pupils are being encouraged to distrust authority rather than learn balanced perspectives.

Residents are now demanding answers from the school leadership and the academy trust. Critics say parents were not properly consulted about the inclusion of the book, and many only discovered its content after children mentioned the language at home.

“Parents deserve the right to know exactly what their kids are being taught,” another local resident argued. “If this is what’s considered acceptable in the curriculum, we need to seriously question the judgment of those making these decisions.”

Across the country, The Hate U Give has been the subject of heated debate. While praised by some educators and activists, it has also faced bans and challenges in other school districts due to concerns over age appropriateness, explicit content, and political bias.

For Budmouth Academy, the backlash is unlikely to fade quickly. Parents are calling for the book to be removed from the curriculum immediately, or at the very least for children to be offered alternative texts that don’t expose them to language many households find offensive.

As one outraged parent put it: “We send our children to school to be educated, not corrupted. Budmouth needs to remember that it answers to parents, not political agendas.”