The US president has called on students across the country to focus on getting a good education, amid criticism from conservative groups and parents accusing him of trying to push his political agenda through the schools system.

In a speech on Tuesday at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia that stayed away from references to politics, Barack Obama urged students to take pride in their work.

“Every single one of you has something that you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer,” he said. “And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is.”

Obama’s address comes after opposition politicians criticised a lesson plan devised by the administration which called on students to “help the president”.

The White House later made changes to the document, while saying that Obama was not trying to politically influence students through the education system.

A small group of parents protesting over Obama’s alleged politicisation of education greeted the presidential motorcade as it arrived at the high school.

One person held a sign which said “Mr President, stay away from our kids.”

Lesson plan ‘problematic’

Highlighting the level of feeling over the dispute, some school districts did not provide students access to the speech at Wakefield High, which was available over the internet.