Teen-led sex education classes work for girls

Girls given sex education by older teenagers are more likely to abstain before the age of 16, a new study has found.

An experiment also found the girls, aged 13 and 14, were less likely to become pregnant after being given advice on safe sex and contraception by students aged 16 and 17.

However, there was no effect on the behaviour of boys who had received the same lessons.

The scheme was being seen as one answer to Britain's high rate of pregnancy among under-18s. At 90,000 pregnancies a year, it is the highest in western Europe. But the fact boys seemed to pay little attention is disturbing experts.

Researchers at University College London and the Institute of Education carried out the study among 8,000 pupils from 27 schools. Half had "peer-led" sex education from older students who had themselves received training, while the rest had teacher-led sessions.

As a result "significantly fewer" girls from the peer-led lessons reported having intercourse before the age of 16 - 35 per cent compared with 41 per cent. There was no difference among the boys.

The study also found nearly half of young people learned most about sexual matters outside school.

The peer-led classes, which involved practical skills such as putting on a condom, were a hit with pupils. However, more than half of the girls and about a third of the boys said they would have preferred single-sex lessons.

Lead researcher Judith Stephenson, from UCL, said: "Getting older teenagers to teach the younger ones about sexual health and relationships could be a step in the right direction."

But sex education expert Roger Short, from the University of Melbourne, said the results were disappointing.

He pointed out that of 343 schools asked to take part, the majority had not replied or had said they were not interested. This indicated the "extremely low priority" still given to sex education, he wrote in medical journal The Lancet.