Brook Advisory Centres, the young people's sex advice charity, unveils its new Understanding Contraception programme at the House of Commons.

The campaign follows the publication last week of government figures showing the number of girls falling pregnant before the age of 16 had risen 11% in 1996 compared with 1995.

Understanding Contraception is aimed at 14-year-olds, and is designed to give useful information about contraception in an uncontroversial way.

It features nine lesson plans designed to fit into the National Curriculum Key Stage Four science syllabus, but is also aimed at youth workers dealing with teenagers in informal settings.

Unenviable reputation

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Sex education expert Dilys Went, who devised the programme, said: "Britain still has the unenviable reputation of heading the European league for teenage pregnancies.

"The vast majority of these pregnancies are unplanned. Research shows that only 50% of younger teenagers use contraception at first sex, yet fewer than one in five 15-year-olds cite school sex education as their main source of information about sex.

"The government has clearly identified school sex education as key to reducing unplanned teenage pregnancies."

At the launch, chaired by Birmingham Egbaston Labour MP Gisela Stuart, pupils from Bartley Green Community School in Birmingham will act out one of the lesson plans.

A recent government review found that school-based sex education can be effective in reducing teenage pregnancies.

Brook Advisory Centres said its experience was that girls who had learned about contraception at school sought advice more quickly and were better equipped to make informed choices.