CADPAG
Conisbrough & Denaby Parents Action Group
To date (AUG 2004), the Vardy Foundation creationists have managed to take control of three schools that were previously publicly owned, publicly run & essentially secular. The first, Emmanuel School, Gateshead, created a fair amount of controversy, but was already up & running before its true nature became apparent.
There were a few problems along the way & a scheme in South Wales was blocked, as was another in Sunderland where the local authorities cited, “fundamental differences" in educational principles between the authority and the foundation”.
The second school, Kings Academy (formally Coulby Newham School) created more controversy & the parents even went as far as setting up a web site outlining their objections. Not that it made any difference; however, to their credit they at least attempted to fight the creationist menace.
The next, Thorne Grammar School (to be called Trinity Academy) sunk into the creationist cesspit with hardly a murmur (thanks in part to indifferent & biased press coverage), even the local atheist wrote a letter supporting the takeover!
By now, a pattern was beginning to emerge; first, the local authority would start picking on a school, dire warnings about its performance made & a call for action issued (you would hardly believe that they were supposed to be managing the school in the first place!). Next, the Vardy Foundation would arrive on the scene & start blowing its own trumpet. In response, concerned individuals & opponents of creationism would raise their very real & justifiable concerns. These concerns would be denied by the Vardy Foundation & brushed aside by the local authorities (who seem incapable of comprehending the issues involved). There would be a meeting with concerned parents, a period of so-called “consultation”, then the Vardy Foundation would be handed control of the school.
After Thorne Grammar School, the Vardy Foundation could be forgiven for thinking they could do whatever they pleased. That was before they decided to pick a fight with the parents & teachers of Northcliffe School, Conisbrough that is!
This time they have come up against people with real backbone who are not content to just sit back & have their local school taken over by religious extremists. They instinctively know that the Vardy Foundation’s hard-line attitudes would not be suitable for many of their children & they are fighting back. Their website explaining their position can be found at www.cadpag.co.uk
Part of this website has unfortunately ended up squashed into the frame to the left of the page. It can be seen at OTHER STUFF