Many of you will be too young to remember a time when the mere mention that the school curriculum might include sex education would send half the kids in the place into an excited blather of anticipation. Letters had to be taken home to parents to gain their approval for this daring new step for comprehensive education, and if that approval wasn't given then you were left out of what you were convinced was going to be growing-up event of the year. But sex education films go back further than 1970s UK and are surprisingly varied in their approach to the subject. You want proof? Well the BFI have come to the rescue with a 2-disc DVD set tracing the history of sex education films from their earliest days to more recent, possibly enlightened times.

From the earliest-known example, Whatsoever a Man Soweth (1917), to the comical, but ultimately serious, 'Ave You Got a Male Assistant Please Miss? (1973), this anthology of sixteen key titles preserved in the BFI National Archive takes in almost 60 years of the British sex education film. Take a journey through the euphemisms, metaphors and diagrams of yore to discover the controversial attitude-changing works of the early 70s.  All matters, unmentionable or otherwise, are dealt with here, from WW1 warnings to soldiers of the potential dangers of cavorting with loose women in London's West End, to puberty pep-talks for girls and scare stories to deter unwanted teenage pregnancies. By turns enlightening, entertaining and surprising, the range and type of works presented here will interest film fans, social historians and anyone interested to ensure that they stay on the road to health.

The Joy of Sex Education offers a filmic insight into Britain's historically complex relationship with informing the nation's youth about sex. With teenage pregnancy rates still soaring and sexually transmitted diseases on the increase, the question of sex education remains just as relevant today. This 2-disc set will be released on UK DVD by the BFI on 9th February 2008 at the RRP of £19.56. All films will be in their original 1.33:1 aspect ratio and the following extras will be included:

• New music scores for Whatsoever a Man Soweth, Any Evening After Work and How to Tell composed by Dave Formula from British post-punk band Magazine;
• Illustrated booklet including notes and credits on all of the films alongside new introductory essays by Tim Boon (Chief Curator at the Science Museum, London), Hera Cook (Lecturer in the History of Sexuality at the University of Birmingham) and Katy McGahan (Non-Fiction Curator at the BFI National Archive and programmer of this DVD.