Education proved to be a major issue in the last election and the 'industrial' action by teachers over the past three years has contributed to a general sense of unease and concern, particularly amongst parents. Prior to the general election in June 1987, the Minister of Education, Mr Kenneth Baker, initiated a debate on school education. A draft Bill was considered in 1986 and the final Bill is scheduled for an early reading in the third term of the Tory government. One of the changes being proposed by Mr Baker is a core curriculum for the whole country. This will not include sex education, although he was reported as saying that 'teachers must find time for sex education' (Guardian, 9 April 1987). However important the provision of sex education may be, it would not be mandatory. There is no doubt that sex education is a vital area of all children's education. Knowledge about sex is crucial, not least because of its obvious connexion with the development of individual sexuality, gender identity and its relation to family formation and systems of control. Closely connected to this knowledge is the adoption and internalization of what is deemed to constitute appropriate sexual behaviour. This is particularly significant for girls, given the intimate links between 'proper' sexual behaviour, the ideals of motherhood and family life and the 'proper' way for girls to behave. It cannot be assumed that parents provide adequate sex education for their children. And it is known that children often transmit distorted