The Health Select Committee said a �50m sex education campaign should be put off until ministers were sure clinics could cope with a surge in demand.

In addition, sex and relationship education should be a statutory and assessed part of the national curriculum in schools, with such classes taught by specialist teachers rather than form tutors, the committee's report said.

What do you think of the Health Select Committee's findings? Do you think sex education should be made compulsory in schools? Send us your views.

This debate is now closed. Thank you for your comments.

The following comments reflect the balance of opinion we have received so far:

When I was at school, most of what was learnt was through playground gossip rather than constructive education Dominic Lambert, Guildford, UK

One of the main problems with this country is the lack of sex education for youngsters. School should not just be for learning English/maths, it should a place for learning about life, its responsibilities and how to be a considerate adult. Also, by informing the youngsters, they will be in a better position before they engage in sex and have an understanding of the pitfalls should they happen. If they don't know what to do when something like pregnancy/disease happens, that's where the problems start. Also, it should teach about all sexual lifestyles. There should not be prejudice if a youngster does not conform to the norm.
Stuart, Greenhithe, Kent

Statutory, yes; assessed, no. There are so many different types of relationships out in the world that are both healthy and consensual, that no matter how much we 'educate' the youth of today there is no possible way of teaching them about all of the different relationships. One question springs to mind however; would the pupils learn about relationships beyond those of "a man and a woman who have loved each other for sometime and gotten married", for example? The social stigma attached to such forms of education would be difficult to deal with in the short-term, but the long-term gains would be immense!
Owen, Birmingham, UK

Specialists should be brought in, better for the students better for the teachers DN, Rickmansworth, Herts

Since the introduction of birth control and sex education aimed at younger children, the number of teenagers falling pregnant and an ever increasing STD problem has followed. Whatever the answer, it surely is not more education and more contraception! It appears that only the experts can't see the obvious link here, but that's usual nowadays. And the government wonders why people are disillusioned in this country. I would laugh if it wasn't a national tragedy and one of many of today's problems.
Dave, Fleet, Hampshire

God yes! We hear this weekend that heterosexual Aids in rising 20% per annum, and last year that gonorrhoea has doubled in a decade. And anyone questions the need for such education? Get real please.
Chris Ryall, Wirral, UK

Of course sex education should be compulsory. I'm a teenager with friends in America, and the lack of basic knowledge some of them have is frankly shocking. America has been pouring money into an abstinence-only policy, feeding the students grossly incorrect facts (for example, condoms fail a third of the time and don't protect against STIs) and encouraging the students to sign "virginity pledges" (88% of students who sign these end up having premarital sex by the way, but of course they lack any kind of useful knowledge about staying safe). If we want to reduce STIs and teen pregnancy, it needs to be accepted that a lot of teenagers are going to have sexual relations no matter what, and thus the best thing to do is to provide the maximum of information and resources so that they will at least know how to protect themselves.
Helen Gurney, Reading, England

What good is it teaching them maths if they die from Aids before they even leave school? Richard Read, London, UK

School prepares us for life. Sex is an integral part of life, as is pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases. Sex education does not encourage sex, any more than religious education encourages us to become priests. But sex education does enable us to make an informed choice.
Ian Tresman, Derby, UK

As a pharmacist I see there are several issues here. Unwanted pregnancy, emergency contraception (morning after pills) and abortion issues all come into play. These issues are all related to lack of awareness in teenagers. Of course, sex and relationship education should be compulsory, and should be a central part of secondary school education. Experts should do this. I would like to see much lower rates of teenage pregnancy, HIV infection, STIs and generally lower numbers of requests for morning after pills. Sex and contraception is not seen as an important enough issue for most of our society.
Kevin J, Manchester

Sex and relationship instruction in schools is a good idea - but only as a supplement to instruction in the home. Parents have the primary responsibility to teach their children, although sadly many parents do not seem to recognise that responsibility. It makes sense for the home to be the primary provider of advice and learning since a child is in the home for much more time than in school.
John Sinclair, Aberdeen, Scotland

Education might be a worthwhile activity, but it isn't a panacea that solves every problem Al, London, UK

As somebody who is involved in sexual advising and condom distribution at university I think that it is about time we set out in life knowing the facts and fully understanding consequences of actions. At school I was given two afternoons of sex education surrounded by my peers sniggering and embarrassed as any young teenager will be. This was followed by talks by my tutor, a wonderful English teacher, but not able to teach this. We need a fully comprehensive system which talks openly and frankly about relationships, sex and make people truly aware of the consequences. It is about time we stopped being too polite and too embarrassed because sweeping it under the carpet is not working.
George, St Andrews, Scotland

We could learn lessons from the Netherlands who teach in-depth sex education and who have the lowest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe!
Nicola, UK

Sex is not the be all and end all of life that media and politician types think. It is fundamentally proven that the ceaseless sexualisation of life that we see is a disaster. School should be a place where sex is never mentioned, taught, or thought about. Give the kids a place where sex is not forced down their throats the whole time.
JW Hughes (Rev), Somerset, UK

Of course it should be mandatory, the girls get pregnant at an earlier age because their parents need to have a stronger grip over them.
Mark Walton, Durham

Sex and relationship education has been proven to be successful in other Western European countries Gerry, Galway, Ireland

Education doesn't work. There's nobody out there who doesn't know the consequences of their sexual actions, the problem is there are many out there that don't care. No more education, what we need is a cultural climate of self-responsibility, which we are sadly lacking. This means, the only people who have to fork out for the upbringing of a child, are the two people that made it. Nobody else - not the grandparents, not taxpayers. As for STDs - if someone knowingly has a disease and transmits it their partner/new sexual partner, then sue them.
Tom Franklin, London, UK

I was under the impression that sex education was already compulsory. If it isn't, it certainly should be. In today's world there should be no excuse for people not understanding about contraception.
Paul, Reading

This education will save in the long run in terms of testing/treatments of STDs James, Cornwall

Our sex education in the UK has now become so efficient that our girls are getting pregnant at 13 or 14 years of age. I think a period of silence on the subject would not come amiss.
John, UK

We should stop instilling fear in people. I remember my sex ed and it was all about "rules" along with "do's and don'ts". We don't educate our kids in this country to be sensible with sex while also being unabashed and confident to simply talk about sex. Assessing people on their knowledge of sex is a laughable idea at best...can you imagine... "yeah baby, don't worry, I got an A* in sex ed..."
Lee, UK

The key is relationship education which will inform that "sex", the ultimate physical intimacy, should be limited to the person with whom you have the greatest emotional and intellectual intimacy. The physical damage is only the outward manifestation of emotional damage which is glossed over.
Barry Jones, England

Let parents start taking back the responsibility for their own children Dee, Ballycastle, NI

I really don't understand how people can want more of the same which has so obviously failed. We've had exactly the same approach for decades and the situation is getting worse not better. I'm not suggesting abstinence is the way forward, but certainly we should be looking at the reasons why people engage in "unsafe" sex. I'm not convinced at all that it's due to lack of education.
Patrick Leahy, Cambridge, UK

I think the answer should be obvious. The situation has gotten progressively much worse since the state took it upon itself to educate our kids about sex. Leave it to the parents, if they neglect to bring up their kids properly, lock them up!
Tony Humphreys, Prestatyn, UK

It should be compulsory, but should be accompanied by advice about the responsibilities of parenthood. In addition, the difficulties of parenthood at a young age should be clearly emphasised. At the moment, we are overloading children with information on sexual techniques, which I believe is irresponsible on the governments part. Also, the dangerous message given just now is to "go ahead with sexual activity if you wish, but make sure you do it safely". The infection rates will decrease if young people are taught the risks of pregnancy, even if using contraception, and the responsibilities which accompany parenthood.
Alistair Muir, Inverness

Key I think is the mention of relationship education. Children should be instructed not on the mere practicalities of the sexual act- but also on the wide range of human activity which surrounds it, to place the thing in its proper context.
Ben Turner, London, UK

No problem with sex education as such, but how are you going to assess it! (Last one to get pregnant gets an "A" ?) Furthermore, I have fears it will come packaged with political correctness featuring all sorts of alternative lifestyle opportunities...fine in its place, but not warranted here. More would be achieved in an hour of close up video and photo footage of the results of sexually transmitted diseases than any amount of worksheets and chat....
Sally, Lincs.

Our schools and teachers are already overstretched. This is an area that should be picked up on by the Health Service. Eva Pollmann, Middlesex

Sadly, in this euphemism-laden politically-correct world, we all know beforehand what this "sex education" is going to be like. As with the "family planning" clinic, - which is where you go when you don't want to have a family -, sex education really means sex propagation. State intervention by a leftist government department ultimately has only one aim: perpetuating a new generation of voters by implanting liberal moral values and calling them modern.
Robin Matyjasek, Castell�n, Spain

I only came out from school a couple of years ago and I feel that my school was realy good at addressing sexual health. We had our weekly PSME lessons which covered a lot of general things and we did a lot of work on sex, drugs and relationships. We also had many situations where we could write down the type of subjects we wanted covered in future lessons and our teacher would do their best to cover these. So I find it strange when people condemn all schools, as it's not totally the case. But I''m sure there is still quite a bit that can be done in other schools.
Jamiro Jones, Penzance, Cornwall

Most definitely. The UK has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in Europe and STD's are sky rocketing. Educate our young people - it will stop unwanted pregnancies, STD's and ultimately save lives.
Stuart Kelly, London, England

No, sex and relationship education should not be taught at schools. Our schools and teachers are already overstretched. This is an area that should be picked up on by the Health Service who could run classes from the clinics. Students should be expected to attend and classes should be run by specialist teachers. They should be informative and non-patronising and every effort should be made to make it "teenage friendly". Young people should be made to feel that they want to attend, that it really is in their interests and that they would benefit hugely.
Eva Pollmann, Middlesex

Sex education should be compulsory, but done properly! Having some middle aged beard wearing fool talk for an hour while turning bright red just makes the whole thing painfully embarrassing. We also have to stop preaching that promiscuity is bad, and that sex should be reserved for "loving couples". Face facts, sex is fun and enjoyable, kids want to be doing it as well. Stop trying to include moral standards in the education and they might listen. Teach facts, plain and simple. STD's kill, and have horrible side effects. Teenage pregnancy is an easy way to potentially ruin your life.
Mark, Nottingham

When I was at school, we had two lessons that merely taught us how babies were made, ie: the sperm fertilizing the egg. No mention of the emotional side of lovemaking was made. Sex education needs to be taught by an expert that would not be embarrassed by such a topic.
Jenny P, Birmingham, UK

I find it staggering the number of people who refuse to accept that the only 100% certain method of avoiding pregnancy and STDs is to abstain from sex. It might not be a trendy view to put forward but it has to be made clear to every generation of teenagers that no other method of contraception offers the same guarantee. Of course condoms and the like should be discussed as anything is better than nothing but teenagers simply must be given the facts rather than the spin.
Karl Peters, UK

I teach sex and relationship education to Key stage 3 (11-14 year olds) and also sixth formers in a mixed Grammar school. I find the level of ignorance about the basics shocking. Very few parents talk about sex and relationships to their children or teenagers. Young people need to know factual information about how to avoid pregnancy and STI's but also need some 'time out' from the daily grind of targets and endless testing to think about what they want out of life and the relationships which form an important part of it. If we are to stand any chance of encouraging young people to aim higher and put off having children in order to finish their education we must furnish them with the facts they need to make appropriate decisions.
Ruth Durrant, Slough

I would doubt that most teenagers are ignorant of the 'dangers' of having sex - they are well-documented in teen magazines, and most have some sex education at school. Katherine, Cambridge

Sex education is already part of the curriculum and that is controversial enough. How can you teach personal sexual relations? Who can be so objective or so arrogant as to decide personal morality? This is a subject for individuals and the state should keep its nose out.
Mike Moore, Hemel Hempstead

Sex education should be taught in our schools as part of a new compulsory subject called Health Education to include all aspects of life that affect our health both physically and mentally.
David, Scotland

Sex should be something children talk about with their parents at home. It shouldn't be taught at anything other than a biological level in school- it is completely inappropriate. My daughter, I was shocked to find out, was taught in her primiary school how to wash a boy's penis. She is only ten. I thought it was utterly appalling to be teaching these unnecessary things to young girls. Stop this lefty liberalism in our schools, it's destroying our children's innocence!
James, Sheffield, UK

Why not just focus more on human biology, of which reproduction is a part? When I was at school in the 70's and 80's, we never had sex education per se; we were taught human biology. We knew a lot about our own bodies, about puberty and reproduction. We didn't experiment with sex, we were taught to respect our bodies. Sex education is simply teaching promiscuity and how to avoid getting pregnant. That is surely contributing to the appalling STI rate amongst kids as they experiment with sex when they should be learning to be kids. Moreover, I actually thought that it was illegal to have sex under 16. Why are we teaching kids how to have safe sex when it's illegal at their age? Surely there is plenty of time in their lives to have sex after having a basic education about their own bodies? I am willing to bet that kids today know more about condoms, the Pill and contraception in general than most adults yet they are still falling pregnant and becoming infected with STI's at a younger and younger age. Let kids be kids while they still have a chance. Sex is for adults, not kids.
Nick, UK

Definitely not. Sex education has no place in our schools. The present govt's liberal sex education policy has much to answer for. The belief that condom distibution premotes responsibility amongst teenagers along with sex education is utter nonsense. Abstinence should be taught in our schools and then and only then will teenage pregnancy and STD's drop.
Graeme, Canterbury, Britain

The most interesting thing about this whole issue is the fact that most people seem to forget that school kids become adults eventually. Most adults have sex, whether within or outside the bonds of marriage. When are these future adults going to learn how to use contraception if not at school? Or are we just going to live with the population explosion? Parents will never be as well informed as health professionals about certain aspects of sex, such as STI symptoms, and won't necessarily know where to get advice.
Liz, edinburgh

Ultimately, if people want to have sex, it's very difficult to stop them, but it's not difficult to get them thinking about the potential consequences. John, Edinburgh

Sex education in schools should be stopped forthwith and left to parents and their families. Our children receive sub standard education in many subjects resulting in high rates of illiteracy. I can think of no better example reason why this is than to point out resources put into sex education come from the read & write budget. Schools are being used to promote socialist communist view points and always end up causing more harm than good.
Tony Oliver, london UK

I'm 13 and I think it should be. I'm in year 8 and I've only had sex ed in year 6 and we weren't taught enough. What's the point going on about STI's if we don't even know what they are? I do, but some of my friends don't.
Abby, hampshire

In Germany we had sexual education. Teenage pregnancies are rare. Not talking about sex in school will not prevent anybody from having it. But from my experience in Germany, do not let 60 year old biology teachers teach sexual education. They must be in contact with the youth and frank enough to address the real issues.
Davoud Taghawi-Nejad, Brussels Belgium

It wasn't so long ago that there was zero sex education and still a low rate of teenage pregnacy and STDs....
Dave, Slough, UK

Lack of education may not be the only reason there is such an increase in STIs and teenage pregnancies. I would doubt that most teenagers are ignorant of the 'dangers' of having sex - they are well-documented in teen magazines, and most have some sex education at school. The social factors leading to the problem need to be carefully examined. Peer pressure is no doubt a factor, with girls feeling under pressure from boys who don't want to use condoms. Many television programmes glamourise casual sexual relationships, without showing potential consequences. Teenagers are also known to take risks - think how little effect the anti-smoking warnings about health have, and how drugs are used regardless of consequences. If sex education is to be made compulsory it needs to address the fundamental reasons why teenagers are inclined to go against what they know can have severe consequences.
Katherine , Cambridge

Much of the comment so far has focussed on the responsibilities of parents and schools, however, this ignores the most potent source of our childrens education, which is television and magazines. If our children see young people jumping in and out of bed with a different partner each episode, with rarely a mention of a condom, a long-term relationship or any significant lasting implications, chances are they will follow - regardless of the best intentions of teachers and parents.
Gavin, Buenos Aires, Argentina

I come from The Netherlands, where sex education is a standard part of the curriculum, and free condoms are available to kids; I live in the United States, where (in my view) proper sex education and prophylactic distribution are prevented by the right wing. All one needs to do is look at the rate of teen pregnancy to see the result. And the rate of teen pregnancy is more or less directly correlated to the rate of sexually transmitted diseases. This should not be a matter of discussion, in 2005, the statistics, freely available from the WHO, speak for themselves.
Menno Aartsen, Fredericskburg, VA, USA

Yes, and as part of a broader range of topics, including the importance of communication within a relationship, as well as what brining up an infant actually entails. Ultimately, if people want to have sex, it's very difficult to stop them, but it's not difficult to get them thinking about - and discussing - the potential consequences.
John, Edinburgh, Scotland

The problem is that there is not too little sex education, but too much. We were explicitly taught how to 'do it' without being taught how to deal with the consequences.
Daniel, Kent, UK