A school that will teach that God created the world has been given approval to open in Nottinghamshire.
An application by the Everyday Champions Church, based in Newark, has been accepted by the Department for Education.
The evangelical church will teach the Bible’s belief that God created
the world in six days, but evolution will only be taught as a "theory".
Education Secretary Michael Gove, had promised that creationism will
not be taught in free schools. He is "crystal clear that teaching
creationism is at odds with scientific fact", the Department of
Education confirmed.
In January, however, he said he would consider applications from creationist groups on a case-by-case basis.
Now it has emerged that a panel of civil servants interviewed
Everyday Champions Church leaders last week after their initial
application was approved. It is not known if they agreed to drop plans
to teach creationism.
The church wants to open the new 625-pupil school in September next
year and says there are currently not enough secondary places available
in the area.
Pastor Gareth Morgan, the church's leader, told the Independent:
“Creationism will be embodied as a belief at the Everyday Champions
Academy but will not be taught in the sciences. Similarly, evolution
will be taught as a theory.”
The church's website says the new school will be "multicultural in
philosophy and will welcome children from all faiths or none".
However, it adds that the "values of the Christian faith will be the foundation of the school philosophy".
The website says: “We believe that the Bible is God's Word. It is
accurate, authoritative and applicable to our every day lives.”
Secular groups have criticised education officials for accepting the application and were "astonished" it was even considered.
Richy Thompson, of the British Humanist Assocaition, said: “Everyday
Champions Church have been very clear that they intend to teach
creationism as valid, and sideline evolution as just ‘a theory’.
“Given this, how can the Department for Education have now allowed this proposal to pass through to the interview stage?
“The creep of creationism into the English education system remains a
serious concern, and the Department have a lot more work to do if they
want to stop extremist groups from opening free schools.”