This is how George Griffith described the Barbadian attitude to the sexual development of the youth in his feature address at the graduation ceremony of Bayley's Primary School recently.

At the ceremony, held at the school in Merricks, St Philip, Griffith openly called for sex education to be taught in later stages of primary school and the early stages of secondary school.

"Our parents did not talk about it with us and we don't talk to our children about it," he said, "it is a part of growing up you can't escape."

He told the students not to be too eager to start having sex.

"You should see it as an adult activity. I assure you it will not be out of style when you become adults."

He told parents that the secondary stage of their children's education will not be "a bed of roses".

He said they will be exposed and tempted into the "destructive sub-culture" which
he said was contributing to the society's downfall. He told parents that Barbadians had become too tolerant of wanton lawbreaking.

"Evil flourishes where good people do nothing," Griffith said.

In the principal's report, acting principal Lorraine Burke expressed satisfaction that of the 54 graduates, 24 of them were admitted to older secondary schools. Both top students, Shayne Inniss and Dionne Dear, were admitted to Harrison College.