Creationist visit off

9:29am Friday 5th May 2006

A creationist who caused a rumpus by refusing to name the school he was due to visit says he's not disappointed' the visit has been cancelled.

John Mackay, a geologist who supports a theory that the world was divinely created in six days was due to speak to Key Stage Three pupils at Thornton's Millfield High School this month as part of a spirituality week'.

The view of the RE department head was that he was extremely fundamentalist and really it wasn’t a broad enough approach, which is what we would have preferred.

Head teacher Alan Harvey

The planned visit to the Belvedere Road school, as reported in the Citizen on April 6, provoked uproar among local and national opponents, and attracted national press coverage.

Millfield head teacher, Alan Harvey, said the visit had been cancelled because of concerns over fundamentalism' and a lack of lesson plans.

But Mr Mackay, speaking from a Creation Research family conference in Powys, Wales, said: "The school has always been open and friendly. I'm not disappointed."

But he called the lack of lesson plans a superficial reason' for the cancellation, and feared the possibility of demonstrations by opponents from across the UK might have changed the school's mind.

"I have been visiting schools in this country for 19 years.

"We never take the political approach of saying we have got a good product, you have to have our product'.

"If you try and politicise schools it doesn't work. You have got to think of kids and parents."

Creation Research also issued a statement saying it was trying to shield the school' from intense press attention, but added: "In the wake of all this coverage we have been informed by the school that they have decided to cancel the visit.

"We can only hope that others will recognise that real debate about what is taught in schools is not between science and religion', but between one particular belief system, atheism, and other faiths."

Mr Harvey, Millfield's head, confirmed: "John Mackay visited us last year as part of our RE course. We do get visiting speakers some times and he was one that we invited."

But he added: "The view of the RE department head was that he was extremely fundamentalist and really it wasn't a broad enough approach, which is what we would have preferred."

Rather than pull the plug' on future visits, the school asked Mr Mackay to submit lesson plans before the visit was fully confirmed.

"We never got the lesson plans. We thought it was probably best not to go ahead. It would just be as the previous time," Mr Harvey said.

He added: "I wouldn't ever say we wouldn't invite anyone else in to talk about their specialism providing it's not a fundamentalist approach.

"We are here to provide a broad and balanced learning experience for our youngsters."

Visits to churches in St Annes, Blackpool and Thornton-Cleveleys next week are still scheduled to go ahead.