Caulfield Grammar may revive plans to name its new $25 million aquatic centre after Olympic champion Mack Horton, following a fierce backlash to revelations it quietly shelved the idea for fear of offending Beijing.

The school’s move to disassociate its pool from Horton after he publicly snubbed his Chinese rival Sun Yang at last year's world championships was condemned as "kowtowing" to China and prompted threats by some parents to pull their children out of school.

Rivals Mack Horton and Sun Yang. Credit:AP

"Will Beijing determine the kind of words and language that are usable at Caulfield Grammar?" asked Clive Hamilton, an author and academic who has examined China’s reach into Australian institutions. "It’s completely beyond the pale. Mack Horton’s courage in calling out a drug cheat contrasts with Caulfield Grammar cowardice in kowtowing to a foreign power."

Federal MP Tim Wilson, whose electorate of Goldstein lies just south of the school’s main campus, wrote to Caulfield Grammar on Monday calling on the school to overturn the decision, which he said sent a "truly disturbing message".