A programme campaigning for a sex education GCSE in British schools is set to be aired by Channel 4 next year.
The show, ‘Sex in Class’, will feature sex therapist, and former Miss Belgium, Goedele Liekens visiting classrooms and the homes of 15 and 16-year-olds to put together the basis of a qualification in sex and relationships.
Liam Humphreys, Channel 4’s head of factual entertainment, said that some of the things which are “acceptable” in other countries are “obviously going to stretch the boundaries of what is acceptable over here”, and that Liekens’ approach will be “the most marvellous culture clash with even the most liberally minded British teacher”.
Channel 4
Channel 4 hopes that the programme, a one-hour special, will develop into a series.
Pro-life group the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) criticised the show’s premise.
Antonia Tully, national coordinator for SPUC’s Safe at School campaign, said: “They don’t need to spin this out over a GCSE! What are they going to cover?”
Protected
“We don’t need lessons to titillate teenagers. This is not the best approach to ensuring children are protected.
“Parents are the best people to talk to children about these intimate details. Sex isn’t an academic subject, it is a personal matter”, she added.
Last week, the Liberal Democrats faced criticism for announcing plans to force primary schools to teach sex education from age seven.
Innocence
Camilla Tominey, the Royal Editor of the Sunday Express, commented: “It is bad enough that our children are subjected to sex on every available billboard without it extending to the blackboard too.”
She said sex education should be “given out only on a ‘need to know’ basis”.
“We are the adults here. We must act more responsibly if we are to preserve our children’s innocence. Teaching seven-year-olds about sex is about as responsible as inviting a boyband for a sleepover with a class of teenage girls”, she added.