EXCLUSIVE by Joe Walker

Pupils as young as 13 are being given contraception in schools without their parents’ consent.

Figures reveal almost 400 contraceptives have been handed out in seven schools across the Canterbury district and Faversham, since last December.

Almost half were given to 15-year-olds, with girls of that age receiving eight morning-after pills, a drug used to terminate any potential pregnancy within three days of having sex.

Pupils aged 13 and 14 were given 66 condoms and four lots of oral contraceptive pills.

The statistics, obtained by the Gazette and Faversham News, under the Freedom of Information Act, were met with a mixed response.

Hilary Pannack, of the sex education charity Straight Talking, defended handing out contraception in schools.

She said: “I think it’s very unlikely that these 13-year-old pupils are being given contraception without the necessary due care and attention.

“If they are already sexually active then they are better off with contraception, so I’m for it being made available to them. But being given contraception doesn’t encourage someone to have sex.

“We live in a highly sexualised society and if we continue to leave sex education to the playground and pornographers, we will see more young people barefoot and pregnant.”

Faversham MP Hugh Robertson said the amount of contraceptives handed out in schools was a reflection of the number of youngsters having sex.

He said: “These figures send out a worrying message about the number of under-16s engaged in sexual activity which is, of course, illegal under British law.

“They certainly point to the need for far greater parental control and suggest the current system of sex education in schools is not working well.”

Read more reaction in this week's Kentish Gazette and Faversham News.