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Teaching pupils about creationism in science lessons is “indoctrination”, according to Professor Alice Roberts.

The TV presenter and new president of the Association for Science Education, who studied medicine at Cardiff University, called for new laws banning all schools, including those in the private sector, from teaching the topic alongside evolution.

The new national curriculum for primary schools, due to be introduced this September, contains a clear requirement for pupils to be taught about evolution.

But the curriculum only applies to state schools, not private schools. Academies and free schools can also choose not to follow it.

In an interview with the Times Educational Supplement (TES), Prof Roberts, who has presented a number of BBC programmes including The Incredible Human Journey and Origins of Us, said: “There should be regulation that prevents all schools, not just state schools, from teaching creationism because it is indoctrination, it is planting ideas into children’s heads.

“We should be teaching children to be much more open-minded. People who believe in creationism say that by teaching evolution you are indoctrinating them with science, but I just don’t agree with that. Science is about questioning things. It’s about teaching people to say, ‘I don’t believe it until we have very strong evidence’.”

Graham Coyle from the Christian Schools’ Trust, which represents a group of 40 independent schools, told the TES: “There are people who would outlaw the discussion of creationism but that is a very dangerous position to adopt. Indoctrination is a misused word.