Total Number of Responses:

157  families

Highest current demand (by Postal District):

S6 – 31 families

S10 – 15 families

S11 – 12 families

with interest in S2, 3, 5

How many children age 3 – 11:

-  128

How many children age 11 – 16:

- 42

Some Survey Comments:

”In the South side of Sheffield we have a C of E school at primary level but no school in our area promotes Christian values at secondary school level. We feel that the strong moral values that are promoted in a Christian environment are of paramount importance to any Education. The children of the primary school have started down the path of an education that focuses on their religion and it is a real shame that this cannot presently be continued’.

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‘My own children have all left school now, so my interest is purely for the future generation, of my family and others. I wanted my own children to attend a Christian based educational establishment but was unable to find one near enough to where we lived and worked. It would be wonderful if parents had that available to them locally for them to make a choice, instead of having no choice’.

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‘Having worked in local communities with children and families in a church context, I would like there to be more opportunities for children to be educated in schools which have the freedom to teach biblical values and to see this affect and change communities’.

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‘In the future we would like to start a family and can think of no better way of providing for our childrens education than at a school that provides strong christian principles, a friendly environment, and has consistently achieved excellent OFSTED results’.

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‘I recently undertook some work experience in a Christian School (Bethany School) and found it to have a much more positive environment for study than many of the state run comprehensive schools. The class sizes were much more manageable meaning that pupils got much more one to one help and attention from the teacher. The pupils also seemed to have been instilled with much better moral, manners an values than many of the children that attend a state run school. The school also gave greater emphasis to the pupil’s family, which aids them in keeping track of their child’s education and addressing any problems quickly. Overall, I think Christian Free schools would have a possitive effect on many pupils, their families and the community.

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Some people think differently…

At SCFS we are committed to being fair, open and even-handed. The comments below represent the type of criticism we get from those who oppose our proposal. We are glad that people have taken the time to respond to our survey.

‘Sending a very young child to a school where they only teach things from one point of view is like stealing their choice of whether or not to believe in that faith or another, as the faith they are taught will be the only option they feel they have. This is very wrong and a breach of human rights. Also I doubt that higher education will accept certificates from god, seeing as the science you say should be based around him spends most of its time proving he isn’t there! The government really has gone mad if it wants to fund this baby cult. If god does exist, wouldn’t he want your children to find him on their own?’

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‘I note with some delight that you plan on including your brand of creationism in your science classes as a valid origin for life on Earth. I must demand that the version of origins put forwards by my religion be given equal time and weighting. It is supported by as much sound scientific evidence as yours and, as a religion, the Church of FSM has many hundreds of thousands of supporters around the world.

I am not asking for any more time in teaching than you seem to wish to give your myth, so you cannot claim my request is unfair. I fully expect that equal time will also be given to the 2000 other potential supernaturally based creation origins, so I realise that actual time given to specific versions will be slim. But that’s only fair.

Alternatively, given that that would not be realistically feasible, you could concentrate on just one – the one supported by 99.9% of all scientists in related fields and the one backed by -all- the evidence.

This message might come across as flippant and non-serious, but my intentions are still valid. Including a religous fairy tale as valid science is dangerous, flawed and non-Christian. You risk associating your school with rabid fundamentalism, endangering your children’s potential for future prospects and going against the concensus of modern, rational, thinking. Creationism goes against all the observed evidence.’

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‘My comments relates to why we do NOT need free schools, especially religion-based ones.
Society needs education to be science-based, not one based on myth, superstition and the divisiveness which religion, ANY religion, necessarily brings. We are all born atheist, and the troubles start when well-meaning but, I believe, misguided people start their indoctrination of young minds. It is perfectly possible to raise moral, confident, capable, well-educated, well-integrated people without recourse to a system which only serves to increase intolerance. Look at the tensions that our beautiful world and people have endured and still do endure because of things done in the name of someone’s god or gods.
We would be much better served if we took the secular approach, which does not deny anyone the right to be religious, but the state and religion needs to be separate with no special privileges for religions.
You definitely do not get my vote.’

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