This paper is based on research which assessed the provision of appropriate and effective sex education to pupils in the early years of their secondary schooling. It aimed to develop an awareness of their views about heath professionals working in schools to help with sex education. The pupils had a range of responses to the work: they liked the openness with which the medical personnel tackled the subject and welcomed their medical knowledge and the accompanying confidentiality they perceived that went along with that. There were also some profoundly negative reactions: gender had a bearing on the pupils' responses, and boys responded more negatively than girls. Differences in the level of development and sophistication of the pupils had an impact on how they received the message.
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