Headteacher of £28,000-a-year private school could invite a porn star to help teach pupils about sex
- Mark Slater is headteacher of The Leys private school in Cambridge
- Mr Slater says it's important to 'empower' pupils with good judgement
- He said that online pornography could damage student's relationships
By STEVE NOLAN
PUBLISHED: 06:08 GMT, 17 June 2013 | UPDATED: 08:40 GMT, 17 June 2013
PUBLISHED: 06:08 GMT, 17 June 2013 | UPDATED: 08:40 GMT, 17 June 2013
Pastoral care: Mark Slater, headmaster of The Leys School in Cambridge, has said he is considering bringing a porn star in to help teach sex education
The headmaster of a £28,000-a-year private school has suggested he might invite a porn star to help teach sex education. Mark Slater, of The Leys in Cambridge, said a guest speaker with experience of the industry could be a good influence on pupils. He said it was now important to 'empower' students with good judgment to ensure they understand that pornography can be addictive and damaging. The headmaster is considering asking speakers to discuss the issue at the co-educational school. He said he had not dismissed the possibility of inviting a porn star to join the debate. 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. But he added: 'It may well be that if somebody is spending their life doing that they may not have the sort of perspective on life that we would want.'Mr Slater, who is due to retire at the end of December, said children's ability to form fulfilling relationships could be damaged by easy access to pornography. He said: 'I don't think you can escape it given that it's almost impossible to legislate against what goes on the internet.'
The headmaster said his school viewed the provision of pastoral care as its most important duty and stressed the need to prepare students for relationships in later life.He told the Daily Telegraph: '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.'There is a potential that their ability to form fulfilling relationships could be damaged by easy access to pornography.'
Private school: The prestigious The Leys school which costs pupils £28,000-a-year to attend
Life lessons: Mr Slater has said that it is vital that children are made aware of the differences between online porn and genuine, fulfilling relationships
