Sylvia Baker
Sylvia Baker BSc, MSc was one of the 27 signatories to the 2002 Estelle Morris letter. At that time she was the headteacher of a private school, the Trinity Christian School, in Stalybridge in Cheshire. This has about 120 pupils aged between 4 and 16. A more detailed view of her position on teaching creationism can be found at http://education.independent.co.uk/schools/article485814.ece.
According to Trinity's web site, April 2007, "The world and everything in it was created by God and did not arise by chance and through evolution." Moreover, "The Bible is, throughout, the Word of God. It is therefore to be believed as true and obeyed unquestioningly." This is pretty authoritarian stuff.
We must point out at this stage that private schools are free to teach creationism if they want and it is not part of BCSE’s remit to oppose that freedom. However, Baker is part of a movement which has publicly advocated teaching of creationism in science in state schools, a matter which is within our remit to oppose.
Baker had founded the school in 1978 although, weirdly, the school’s web site made no mention of her when checked in the Spring of 2006,
Since leaving the Stalybridge school, it is understood that she has written another book, Love of God in the Classroom: The Story of the New Christian Schools. It has been co-authored with David Freeman. This follows on from her 1986 creationist book, Bone of Contention.
She is now an advisor to the Christian Schools Trust (see http://www.christianschoolstrust.co.uk), a loose network of some 50 private Christian schools that teach over 3000 children in the UK (average size of school, 60 pupils – the only one we have checked out has 17 pupils. It isn’t clear how the school is viable with fees of £2,340 a year).
Baker is an Australian by origin but studied for a BSc in biology at Sussex University (at that time a pretty highly regarded new university – it’s reputation subsequently diminished). She then went on to complete an MSc at the University of London.
Baker has been closely associated with the Biblical Creation Society for many years as were 14 of the other signatories to the Estelle Morris letter. (See http://www.biblicalcreation.org.uk/bcs_publications/bcs071.html for details of her contributions to the BCS’s journal.) Dr Arthur Jones, another signatory to the Estelle Morris letter, has also been an adviser to the Christian Schools Trust.
