Good news about teenage pregnancies.

Greatnan One of my trainees told me (nearly 10 years ago) that all the boys wanted was oral sex, easily and quickly performed outdoors or in a car, no need to remove clothing or have any foreplay. The other, shyer, trainees confirmed, by nodding, that this was the case. Trainee No 1 then proceeded to lecture the others about how degrading this was for women, etc.etc. I ran this revelation past DD1 who confirmed that to her knowledge, this was also the norm among teenagers in Glasgow and in Edinburgh, not just on 'one night stands' but also throughout some long term relationships. I was totally astonished and yet again wondered whether feminism had achieved anything for the next generation of young women.

One thing I do know is that here in Southend word is spreading that you will not automatically get a flat if you have a baby.

yes the boys do. Part of the male PE staff's job to help with this if they do not want to speak to nurse.

My feeling is that if the teenage pregnancy rate is falling, then girls "making themselves available" for sex is not new. What's new is that they don't have to get pregnant so much and if they do get pregnant they don't have to stay pregnant. Teenage sexual activity is nothing new and I'm not sure any amount of frowning upon it and disapproval made any useful difference. Sex education and the availability of contraception plus the morning after pill clearly do make a useful difference.

What I'd be interested to know, though perhaps there are no trustworthy statistics on this, is whether the proportion of teenagers engaging in sexual activity has changed much over time.

Jess out of interest, do boys at your school come for advice/supplies or just the girls.

I hate to think of young girls making themselves so available for sex, albeit safer sex, and school helping to facilitate this by making it so easy.

I know teaching abstinence doesn't work but I'm fighting my 'inner-Victoria Gillick' feelings here!

I thought I'd put those thoughts to bed a long time ago.

That too.

The morning after pill?

Better availability of family planning? This age group can get free condoms with the "C card" for instance. In "my' school we made great efforts - nice school nurse who did pregnancy tests and could help them access emergency contraception. Brook clinics on site.

I think it's a combination of better sex education and wider opportunities for girls.

Oh dear, an 'expert' on TV has just suggested that there are less because the type of sexual behaviour currently shown on soft porn sites does not lead to pregnancies. I fear it may well lead to other problems, such as STDs and photos of young girls being posted on the internet performing some sexual act.

Could be. Could also be the fact, despite the present economic difficulties, there really are far more opportunities these days for girls to aspire to.