What is school for?

Reading, writing, 'rithmetic? Or contraception, condoms and craziness?

I've no problem with helping teenagers to avoid becoming parents too early. We want them to be old enough to make an informed decision and maybe have a life before they have children - especially girls, who rarely stop at one child once they've started and whose opportunities in life recede with every pregnancy. It's hard to get women back into education once they've dropped out.

But I'm also fed up with the likes of the NHS trying to divert schools from their true mission which is - let me remind you - education, education, education: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-21491127

The facts are that the number of teenage pregnancies has been falling for the past 10 years.This reduction in teenage pregnancies is due to a joint effort by schools, the NHS, social workers, community education workers and - strangely enough - parents. As Hillary Clinton said: It takes a village to raise a child. Besides, schools have less and less access to nurses: there are probably more cops on campus in Scotland than nurses now - and nurses must have other priorities apart from contraception, like making sure everybody gets their MMR jags. And the best way to stop teenage pregnancies is surely to offer young people opportunities in jobs and education.

We need to stop trying to pass the buck to the schools. Right now, they are responsible for everything from first aid to safe cycling to citizenship - oh, and the curriculum on top of that.