Evolution should be taught as fact, says top scientist

Children should be taught from the age of 11 that Darwin's theory of evolution is a fact, an eminent scientist said today.

Richard Pike, the chief executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said that references to it being a "theory" should be abandoned.

His comments came the week before prominent creationist speaker John Mackay, a former science teacher from Queensland, is due to tour halls and chapels in the UK attacking Darwin's ideas, claiming that Genesis is literally true and that the Earth is a few thousands of years old, not millions.

Teachers' union conferences this Easter debated the dangers of creationism and "intelligent design" being taught in faith schools and academies.

Dr Pike said: "Above all, we should no longer talk of the theory of evolution as though it is 'just an idea'. So well-established is it, that it now warrants the designation of an immutable scientific law, and should be taught as such. It is on this basis that further dialogue should begin."

He added: "A wider understanding of the scientific basis of our existence will position all of us to address more effectively the major issues facing our planet.

"In this there is no role for 'creationism' or 'intelligent design', and religious education must recognise the allegorical nature of much of its source material."

Earlier this month leading scientists from the Royal Society warned against the teaching of Christian theories such as creationism in school biology lessons.