WINCHESTER College has been accused of promoting underage sex after boys aged 13 and 14 were told they will not be prosecuted for having “consensual” intercourse.

Some parents at the boarding school are furious that their sons, in years nine and ten, were told that the age of consent “is not there to punish young people for having consensual sex”.

The pupils were given a virtual lesson on relationships, sex and health education earlier this week by Dr Eleanor Draeger from the organisation It Happens.

The Telegraph reports that Dr Draeger told the boys that in a “happy, healthy relationship” where “you both want to have sex and you both have sex, you are unlikely to be prosecuted from that because it’s not in the public interest”.

She continued: “It’s just two 14 year olds who want to have sex with each other who are consensually having sex.”

Dr Draeger went on to say that if you are 14 and you have sex with a 19-year-old teacher, the teacher would be prosecuted, adding: “So the age of consent is not there to prosecute [or] punish young people for having consensual sex."

Having sex with anyone under the age of consent is a criminal offence, even for people who are also under 16.

Dr Draeger also said that “biology isn't binary” during a discussion about male and female chromosomes.

The newspaper reports that a number of parents are understood to have written to the school to complain that the lesson was not appropriate for young boys.

“The lesson was a Trojan Horse,” a source told The Telegraph. “It was pretending to be about sexual health but it was basically advocating underage sex. The boys were being hoodwinked into thinking that underage sex is normal. Some of these boys have only just turned 13, they are so naive at that age.”

A source said that parents were concerned that pupils were being “indoctrinated” with views from the “transgender lobby” that were not age-appropriate.

It Happens was set up in 2018 to provide educational talks, workshops and training sessions for students, teachers and parents.

A spokesman for Winchester College told The Telegraph said they believed the section of the talk about the age of consent had been taken out of context.

They added: “It Happens are members of the PSHE Association. They advise schools on how to implement the statutory guidance for the teaching of sex education in independent schools. The presentations were delivered by specialist consultant Dr Draeger, who has worked in the NHS for 16 years. Their content was in line with both NHS and WHO guidance.”

It Happens has been contacted for a comment but it has yet to respond.