[Sundae]

I had the basics from my Mum. My sister was due to receive sex education at school, and she was allowed to opt in or out, via a letter to parents. Partly because of a recent episode of a school soap opera called Grange Hill, where a kid was laughed at for ignorance, but mostly because she always tried to keep us ahead of the stream, Mum went through things with Laura. About a week later she felt bad about keeping me in the dark, given that I was the more curious (intellectually) of the two of us, and explained things to me too.

But I had sex education at school when I was 11. And this was a Catholic school.
And then every damn year after that, from Combined Science, to Social Sciences, to Biology. Trust me, I knew the ins and outs of sex like... well - intimately.

And yet, like I say, the first time could have got me up the stick if my bf hadn't asked that all-important question. Teens think they are invulnerable. I did anyway, and further knowledge suggests it's a widespread phenomenon.

Keep asking, keep telling, keep questioning and testing.
I'll bet 200 years ago far more teens had STDs - and probably even died from them. We are moving forward.

Oh and OC - it's nasty that spiteful girls meant a girl had a pregnancy test. But I still think it's better that she was tested and negative than not tested and hiding it. If she is a virgin, then I can see it would be an issue for her - she would feel accused, and maligned. When I was 12 I was still sunshine, lollipops and lemonade. But I certainly know schoolmates of mine had breats, periods and other semblances of being women. They weren't of course - they had the life experience of children. But I think at 12, peeing in a cup is far better than an internal exam.

And after all, if she was sexually active (and even a my school there was a girl who got pregnant at 13) then good for them - she might feel targetted, but that's a bullying issue, not a healthcare issue.

Oh and I hope the girl goes to school in a really rich area. Otherwise, what are the parents doing sueing? Hoping to reduce budgets even further? I can only assume they have no younger children, to want to damage the school system that way.