Channel 4 Teachers
PSHE - Up Close and Personal
Egg and Sperm Race
Interactive Activity

This sexual health game teaches students about contraception, STIs, love, relationships, and pregnancy.

17 sexual health topics are covered, with over 15 levels to play in the full version.

Aims:
During this activity, students find out about sex, contraception, STIs, pregnancy, and relationships. After completing the activity and accompanying worksheets, students should be able to: PSHE, KS4
Developing a healthy, safer lifestyle
Developing good relationships and respecting the differences between people
 Worksheet

Answer the following questions:

  1. In some European countries, the age of consent is 14. Some UK groups feel that by 14 you should be legally able to have sex. Should the UK change the age of consent?

  2. Should contraception be free or will free contraception just promote promiscuity? Support your opinion with evidence, facts, and statistics.

  3. Should schools offer crèche facilities for single mums? Outline other ways that schools can support single mums.

  4. The STI rate is increasing in the UK and some teens don't even know what HIV is. Design a safe sex campaign for your school.

  5. Using the chart below, match the birth control method with the STI it protects you from.

  Abstinence Female Condom Birth Control Pills Birth Control Patch Male Condom Withdrawal
AIDS and HIV            

Chlamydia

           
Crabs (Pubic Lice)            
Herpes            
Genital Warts            
Gonorrhoea            
Hepatitis B (HBV)            
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease            
Scabies            
Syphilis            
Trichomoniasis            

Kiss Love Bite
Big Kiss Slap
Pill Feelings

6 topics from the free version of Egg and Sperm Race are available below.

The full version covers a further 11 sexual health topics, including STIs (Chlamydia, Herpes, Gonorrhoea, Syphilis), HIV, abortion, pregnancy, birth control, homosexuality, and much more.


back to top Kiss

 Evolution
Anthropologists believe that kissing evolved from sniffing. Our ancestors would sniff to express sexual attraction.

While smelling good is an important part of attraction today, we've grown up considerably since those early days of body snorting.

Neck nibbles, French kisses, finger kisses, quickie kisses, tongue sucking, there's an endless variety of ways to snog.

Is it okay to kiss on the first date?
Yes, but only if it's what you want to do.

What if I have bad breath?
Just chew some gum, but make sure to keep it in your own mouth.

What should I do about my braces?
Be gentle and make sure you're kissing someone who's gentle too

If I kiss somebody, does it mean I'm dating them?
Kissing somebody does not mean you've signed on to a full-time relationship. While it's not the best idea to kiss everyone you meet, it does happen. But if you've kissed someone and then decide you don't like them, you should let them know as soon as possible. Remember to put yourself in their shoes and make sure you tell it too them nicely.

How should I kiss?
Everyone you kiss will want to be kissed in a different way. And each person will kiss you differently. Kissing is just one of those things you have to try.

One tip to keep in mind if you're kissing someone for the first time is not to shove your tongue down the other person's throat. Start out slow and be gentle.


back to top Love bite

 Can't keep your hands off each other?
If you can't shake your primal urges, you've most likely been bitten by the love bug.

The three phases of love
Not all love is equal. According to anthropologist Helen Fisher, falling in love has three phases.

Phase one: Lust
The sex hormones, testosterone and oestrogen, make us positively lustful. Testosterone plays a big role in the sex drive of both men and women. In this stage, we're really on the look out for sexual gratification.

Phase two: Attraction
If you spend all of your waking hours thinking of nothing other than your new love and if you've lost your appetite and can't sleep, you're most likely in the attraction phase. You can blame your strange behaviour on the neuro transmitters, dopamine and norepinephrine, aka adrenalin. They give you the jitters and make your heart race.

Phase three: Attachment
When you're ready to make a commitment, you're probably in the attachment stage. Attachment is thought to be partly related to the hormone oxytocin. Released by both men and women when they have an orgasm, oxytocin is supposed to help you commit.


back to top Big kiss

Are you waiting to utter those famous three little words?
If you think you've found your soulmate, you sort of assume you'll know when the moment is right, but will you?

Finding the perfect moment to say 'I love you' is a difficult task.

Tip one: don't text
You may be completely paranoid that your sweet words will be met by an ice-cold response, but resist the impulse to declare your devotion over the text waves.

Tip two: find the perfect place
For lots of people, saying 'I love you' represents the ultimate commitment within a relationship. Best then, to say it at a moment that you can look back on and sigh (in other words, not while you're in line waiting for fries at McDonald's).

Tip three: wait until you're really, really sure
Also, if you're really worried you're going to get laughed at, hold back on proclaiming your devotion until you're sure your one and only feels the same.

Not sure you're really in love?
You could try asking yourself a few hard questions. One word of caution: this isn't a hard and fast test, just meant to get you thinking!
If you've answered 'no' to most of these questions, think about why. Maybe you need to get to know each other better. Or perhaps you're not ready to really commit yet. If you've answered yes, then it could be that you are in love!


back to top Slap

 Hands off buddy
Sexual harassment is any kind of inappropriate sexual behaviour (from actual touching to language) that makes you feel unsafe or uncomfortable. Examples of harassment include unwanted pinching or touching, obscene or sexually suggestive remarks / displays, sexist behaviour, unwanted requests for sexual behaviour, and threatened, attempted, or complete sexual assault.

Bad attitude
Harassment at school is a difficult issue, because in many situations a 'boys will be boys' attitude is adopted and the school may not have any really well-enforced ways of holding the harasser accountable.

Many female teens (and adults for that matter) don't have the confidence to stand up for themselves when being harassed.

Not just for boys
Harassment isn't just restricted to guys either. Every day, male and female teens use sexually charged conduct as a weapon against each other. In some cases it's unintentional, like if a guy or girl comes on a bit heavy. Even so, it's important to make it clear when attention isn't wanted or warranted. The best thing to do is to politely but firmly ask the person to stop.

Get help
If the behaviour doesn't stop, or if the harasser is intimidating others as well, you need to get some help. Talk to a teacher or counsellor that you trust.

But what if it's just flirting?
There's a fine line sometimes between flirting and harassment, but, in general, harassment is an one-sided activity that makes you feel bad, while flirting is a two-way activity that makes you feel good about yourself.


back to top The Pill

 What is the pill?
The combined pill (referred to as 'the pill') is the most popular type of birth control in the UK. The pill contains two hormones - oestrogen and progestogen - which are similar to the natural hormones women produce in their ovaries.

Use
There are many different brands of pills, each of which has different combinations of oestrogen and progestogen. You either take one pill a day for 21 days (21 day or phasic pills) or one pill a day for 28 days (28 day pills). Each type of pill has its advantages and disadvantages, so it is worth becoming familiar with each type and with the different brands available.

How effective is it?
How effective any contraceptive is depends on how old you are, how often you have sex, and whether you follow the instructions. The pill is 97 to 99.9 percent effective as birth control. It does not protect against STIs, so condoms should also be used for full protection against STIs, such as HIV/AIDS.

Advantages
Disadvantages

In order to tell if the pill is right for you, it's a good idea to speak with your GP or visit a sexual health clinic. It's worth doing some investigating on your own first as well. Research the advantages and disadvantages of several kinds of contraception before making a final decision. Additional types of contraception you might want to investigate include: back to top Feelings

 Relationships
Stroking, nuzzling, caressing, licking, nudging, rubbing, massaging. Anyway you do it, touch is one of the best ways to show somebody affection. It shows your partner how important he or she is, and it's a really good excuse to be able to explore somebody else's body.

Why it feels good
When we're touched or we touch someone else, our bodies produce a hormone called oxytocin. In turn, oxytocin promotes a desire to touch and be touched, because we feel good when oxytocin is released. In fact, even thinking of someone we love can stimulate this hormone.

Increases sex drive
Oxytocin increases testosterone production (responsible for sex drive in both men and women). More testosterone generally results in an increased sex drive.

Oxytocin makes the penis and nipples more sensitive, improves erections and makes orgasms more intense. What's more, sexual activity increases the production of oxytocin.