Unwanted pregnancies - why so many?

Still looking for the one that got away, but this article has some bar charts which seem to show that the teenage pregnancy rate is not as high in recent years as it was a few years ago. It is mostly a Catholic rant about not teaching girls anything about sex in case they are encouraged to put it into practice, but the charts are (probably) viable separately from the accompanying text.

Should have said teaching them about contraception, not sex.

In the school where I was governor for 10 years there used to be a high level of teenage pregnancies and births. It was normal to have at least one pregnant 15/16 year old in school.
During the ten years the incidence dropped sharply and in recent years there were no pregnant girls in school and very few conceptions. Just one over-16 who actually wanted a baby and went through with a pregnancy. This is despite the fact that most of the girls grew up on a council estate.
Why?
Because we employed a brilliant school nurse who was approachable.
Because the school nurse did pregnancy tests if asked by a girl.
Because the school nurse would make sure they got the morning after pill if asked for.
Because there was a free condom scheme in the area and the nurse gave them out (also male PE staff gave them to boys)
Because we had Brook Advisory doing clinics on site in the school lunch hour - it is a long and quite expensive bus trip to their offices in the city centre.

Sounds an excellent plan JessM, as with so many 'problems', getting everything out in the open is often the best idea.

First, well done that school, jess. Way to go.

jura, a small thing, a tentative request: perhaps if you were not to compare the UK unfavourably with other European countries quite so often...?

The really important thing is to disaggregate the overall UK figures - if you look at them in small chunks eg parliamentary constituencies, you will see a picture that correlates very closely with deprivation indices. Also don't you find it interesting that two societies with some of worst inequalities ie Uk and uSA have the worst overall figures?

thatbags- try and say this to all my friends, neighbours and colleagues- who are fed up with me saying our the UK is way ahead of here- in so so so many ways.

But ahead too in drugs, alcohol and teenage pregnancies, and child obesity too- facts which do concern me greatly (as my grandchildren are growing there). Will try. There is a saying in French 'qui aime bien, châtie bien' who loves well, punishes well- and it is only because I have a big part of my heart still in the UK, that these things do upset me.

Will try.