A racism probe into a school has been launched after parents claimed their black children were being repeatedly abused by other students.

Officers from Brighton and Hove City Council have been called in to investigate claims of a “culture of racial abuse” at Varndean School.

The alarm was raised by Mosaic, a charity supporting black and mixed-race families in Brighton and Hove. Abigail Sinclair, a Mosaic community worker, said she was in contact with the parents of six children at the school who had complained of repeated verbal and physical racial abuse.

She added the “majority” of school racism cases dealt with by the charity in the past 18 months had involved students at Varndean. She said: “Many children do not feel safe and secure in that school. Varndean had a good record up until about two years ago but, since then, more and more parents are coming forward with some terrible stories. There appears to be a culture of racial abuse there. I have been here for six years but this last eighteen months has been really bad, especially at Varndean.” Ms Sinclair claimed white students had developed their own codeword insults to keep under the radar of teachers including ‘reggin’- an anagram of a racial taunt.

As well as verbal abuse, black students have also reported physical bullying both in and outside the school. She said: “We’ve had children who have been chased by groups of white students down the road. This problem is getting worse and I am fearful for the future.”

After a meeting between Mosaic staff and Varndean headteacher, William Deighan, the school called in Brighton and Hove City Council’s healthy schools team to investigate.

On Wednesday, The Argus reported a 14-year-old Varndean student had been hounded by a gang of racist bullies for four months. Her mother said she was “unsurprised” by the decision to probe racism at the school.

She said: “There’s clearly a serious issue there and, hopefully, the school will now respond properly to accusations of racism by its students. This has opened up a can of worms because it’s clear [the 14-year-old girl was not an isolated case.”

A spokesman from Varndean School said: “The headmaster invited the Mosiac charity to meet him and those parents who felt the school was not providing enough support.

“Out of the meeting between William and Mosaic came a suggestion, from William himself that he would ask for assistance in reviewing the concerns using the council’s Healthy Schools team. “The school is waiting to receive the findings. If the report shows work needs to be done then the school will meet any challenge raised head-on.”

A spokeswoman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: “The school informed us when issues were recently raised relating to racism within the school community and has taken these complaints seriously.

“Work has begun to explore what the issues are and to build on good practice and develop activities and actions which will lead to a reduction in racist incidents, and will ensure that, if racism does occur, it is dealt with effectively.”