Condom Olympic!

On Wednesday, 8th May, Brook visited Holmer Green School to conduct a ‘Condom Olympics’ session with their 6th Form students. The session occurred in the cafeteria, where the 6th formers were seated in groups of 8-10 at tables. We began with a brief introduction to bSHaW’s services in the area, including clinics, online testing, YP sessions, MyLife, C card, and how to access the bSHaW website. We also informed the students that the school is now C-Card trained and how to access C-card at school.

We announced that Mr. McMaster had asked us to organize a ‘Condom Olympics’ to kick off the scheme. The students were excited and started discussing amongst themselves as this was quite different from their usual lessons. Lisa and Hattie from Brook then explained the importance of using condoms correctly to ensure their effectiveness. We selected a teacher, which the students found hilarious, to do the first condom demonstration.

Each table was provided with a demonstrator and a selection of (in-date) condoms. We encouraged the students to take turns putting a condom on the demonstrator if they wanted to and felt comfortable doing so. We also used ‘beer goggles’ at each table to demonstrate how negotiating condom use could be when under the influence.

We also shared our contraception box, which contains all the contraception available from bSHaW clinics, sparking a discussion on choices. The students also had the chance to participate in our popular condom lucky dip, where they could select from a variety of condoms and discuss the available options.

The students enjoyed the ‘Condom Olympics,’ which provided them with the opportunity to practice putting on condoms and discuss condom use, contraception, and available local services in more depth. The staff provided positive feedback, mainly around students being more open to discussing sexual health and increasing their knowledge and confidence about condom use.