Under a new government ruling, it compulsory for all pupils aged 15 to learn about relationships and sex – straight and gay - over the course of a year. Taught as part of the personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) curriculum, the wide ranging course will allow students to “learn about sex in the broader context of relationships, homosexuality, marriage, civil partnerships, divorce and abortion, rather than simply as the biological facts of puberty and reproduction formerly taught in science classes,” reports the Guardian. 

Under current guidelines, parents have the right to withdraw their child from sex and relationship education classes up until the age of 19 - the age of consent in the UK is 16. With the new ruling, parents may withdraw their children from sex education only up to the age of 15.

The change means all pupils will get at least one year of sex and relationship education before their 16th birthday once it becomes compulsory in 2011.

The move is said to be aimed at reducing teenage pregnancy and abortions a 12% rise in the number of abortions performed on under-16s - from 3,658 in 2001 to 4,113 last year.

Children's Secretary Ed Balls told the BBC that with the age of consent being 16 and with young people being able to vote at 18, it did not make sense for parents to have control over whether their children attended sex education classes right up until the age of 19.

"I have concluded that parents right to withdraw their children from sex and relationship education should continue until their children reach the age of 15."

He added that faith schools would not be allowed to refuse to teach contraception on the ground that they do not believe in sex before marriage.

“It is open to faith schools to teach what they believe, according to the tenets of their faith, that pupils should not have sexual relationships outside of marriage.

“You can teach the promotion of marriage, you can teach that you shouldn’t have sex outside of marriage - what you can’t do is deny young people information about contraception outside of marriage.”

Religious groups in Britain have opposed the move with the the Muslim Council of Britain vowing to mount a legal challenge to the new laws that it says contravene the right for children to be taught according to their parents’ tradition, reported the Times.

A spokeswoman for the Catholic Education Service for England and Wales (CESEW) said they were “disappointed” the Government had abolished the right of parents to opt out of sex education. The Times also reported that the new rule could lead to a situation in which Roman Catholic schools would have to show children how to use condoms while teaching that contraception is a sin.