SEX education must be compulsory, according to Darlington’s Youth MP.

Teenager Jess Halliday called for comprehensive sex education to be mandatory in all schools at the town’s first PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) conference on Thursday.

Parts of sex and relationship education (SRE) linked to the national curriculum for science are compulsory but parents may withdraw their children from all other parts of SRE.

Academies and free schools do not have to follow the curriculum and are not under the same statutory obligations.

Ms Halliday said her own Catholic education left her largely ignorant about sex.

The 17-year-old said: “I was at Carmel College, a Catholic school, and we did not really get to do sex education.

“That needs to be challenged, everybody needs to learn about sex, it’s not just about having a life skill, it’s a safety issue.”

Ms Halliday also stressed the importance of PSHE lessons in giving children vital life skills, calling for them to be youth led.

She said: “We know what we need and what is happening in schools.

“We need to make sure people are engaged and that teaching staff are able to deliver a comprehensive PSHE education.”

Carmel College’s principal Mike Shorten said pupils were taught about sex in science lessons and that the school had a PSHE programme that taught them about relationships and how to access contraception.

He said: “When it comes to personal decision making and additional advice, we would point them in the direction of health professionals.”