Sex is a turn off for teens in Sheffield schools
A survey of 20,000 teenagers has found more than half felt the sex education they received at school was inadequate. The Star's Education Correspondent Mike Russell visited one Sheffield school which prides itself on its open approach to the subject, and sought the views of pupils, parents and staff.
SCHOOLS are required by law to include all sorts of subjects in their timetables, from English and maths to science, careers, and even citizenship.
But when it comes to sex education, things are a little different.
Youngsters are required to learn the nuts and bolts of physical reproduction, as well as the changes their bodies and minds go through during the difficult years of puberty.
But whether to provide guidance on vital issues like relationships, contraception and safe sex is still up to individual schools and their governing bodies, and the quality of such lessons varies widely as a result.
Crucially, parents still have the power to withdraw their children from all such sessions - meaning the subject is far from compulsory as it is in countries including France, Germany and Sweden.
Many feel this patchwork approach is a contributing factor to the 55,000 teenagers who become pregnant in the UK every year - one of the highest rates in Europe.
It's a problem featured in the new hit film Juno - where the 16-year-old heroine discovers she's pregnant following a one-night stand with her best friend.
But one secondary school which feels it is getting sex education right is Sheffield's King Edward VII in Broomhill, where the topic is a key part of the curriculum for every year group.
For 12-year-old Jonathan Karimatsenga for example, the lessons really have been an education.
"When we started learning about puberty it helped me to understand all the things that were happening to me," he said.
"But it also taught me what was happening to the girls as well and that was stuff I really didn't know. I was shocked at first - it wasn't the sort of thing we normally talked about at home.
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"Now I think we know each other better, we respect each other, and we are becoming more comfortable in expressing our opinions," Jonathan added.
The school has its own department for personal, health and social education, with three trained staff tackling not only sex but a range of topics including drugs and alcohol, assertiveness training and risk reduction.
The sessions can be innovative and eye-opening, according to 15-year-old Suzie Murray.
"I remember in Year 9 we all had to put condoms on a dummy. We all thought it was really funny, but we were nervous too and we did take it seriously," she said.
"Then another time we had a role-playing session where we were supposed to be at a house party and we were all given different characters to play," she recalled.
"Some of the people at the party had sexually transmitted diseases, and some didn't. Some knew they had them and some didn't.
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Some wanted to use condoms while others didn't, while some had beliefs such as Christians that encouraged them not to have sex before marriage at all."
Each class member had a cup of water and social and sexual interaction between the partygoers was symbolised by pouring water into another person's cup - or not.
"The people with a disease had iodine in their cups and it turned the other person's water black," Suzie said.
"It was a dramatic end to the lesson and it really made you think - just how easy it can be to pass something on. Only two of the party guests had infections at first but by the end of the session that number was up to five out of 14 of us."
Lessons such as these are evaluated by the students themselves - and the vast majority found this one very worthwhile.
"It has affected me and has made me think," Suzie said. "I was at a party and it was just like that class - I was thinking, 'I don't think I will'. Safe sex is such an important thing, if all schools taught it properly I'm such it would make a real difference."
At King Edward's lessons on HIV and AIDS in Year 9 are made memorable by people with the condition coming in to talk to the pupils.
"It works much better than just using a DVD as the sessions can be interactive," said head of PHSE Kim Wilson.
"Students learn that all sorts of people can get HIV - from a young person who had heart surgery as a child who received an infected transfusion, to a woman who had it passed on from her partner.
"We can link this to the situation in other parts of the world, to show HIV doesn't discriminate, it cuts across both class and religion."
Pupils in class discussions are encouraged to open up and be honest in a way that is different to any other area of school life.
"I'm a prude and a half but being too nervous to talk is not really an issue," said 17-year-old sixth former Charlotte Johnson.
"No-one is uncomfortable and there are important ground rules - what is said in the classroom goes nowhere else. You also feel you have somewhere to turn to if you have a problem. I've trusted Miss Wilson ever since Y7."
It's all a long way from stereotypes of sex education from times past, where pupils might have giggled with embarrassment at some of the issues raised.
Kath Broomhead has sent three of her children to King Edward's and is fully supportive of the school's approach.
"The school keeps us well informed about what is coming up in lessons so we can bring issues up at home as well. It works as a partnership and that is very important," she said.
The number of parents opting out of sex education at the school is very small - though with the curriculum given full prominence at open evenings for prospective pupils, it could be some mums and dads uneasy with the approach opt for another secondary from the start.
"In the lower school five have opted out, and none in the upper school at all," said headteacher Michael Lewis.
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Latest sport. "We are very proud of this, especially given the school's ethnic diversity.
"We are not strident about our policy here, just very clear and open. And it is vital our staff are fully trained - it is just like, say, physics. It isn't a subject for amateurs."
Kim said all the research showed effective sex education delayed the age at which young people started having intercourse.
"We don't tell students what to do, it is about providing informed choices," she added.
Charlotte said ultimately if teenagers wanted to have sex, they would do.
"But it isn't encouraged in any way here - we talk about love and our feelings and our relationships, not about sleeping around," she added.
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