Porn stars could teach sex education, says private school head

The headmaster of a £28,000-a-year private school has indicated he is considering inviting a porn star to teach sex education to his pupils. 

Children must be made aware of the differences between online porn and genuine relationships, The Leys' headmaster said.

Mark Slater, head of The Leys in Cambridge, said students at the historic school need to be aware of the unrealistic nature of the online material. 

It is vital that children are made aware of the differences between online porn and genuine, fulfilling relationships, he argued.

Referring to the possibility of inviting a porn star to speak to his pupils, Mr Slater, 59, said: "I wouldn't rule it out simply because of what they have done in their life if I felt that person was going to put across good values and be a good influence.

"I don't think you can escape porn given that it's almost impossible to legislate against what goes on the internet.

"There are young people who have got easy access to all sorts of material which wasn't accessible years ago.

"And I think what we have got to do is empower them with good judgment and make them understand that this kind of thing can be addictive, it can be damaging and a certain amount of willpower is necessary."

He added: "As a school we see pastoral care as possibly the most important job we do.

"And under the heading pastoral care comes the need to prepare people for life, for their future, and an important part of that is their relationships.

"I think there is a potential that their ability to form fulfilling relationships could be damaged by easy access to pornography."

Mr Slater also expressed concern that technology could be harming children's ability to retain information.

He suggested the "exciting" emergence of technology such as iPhones could lead this generation to grow up "unable to actually store information because it doesn't need to".