You could compare the effectiveness and safety of different methods of contraception using the data published in many texts. Check you comply with the school’s sex education policy. What ethical issues are raised?

Look at the way the combined oral contraceptive pill works. This is a mixture of synthetic oestrogen and progesterone and works by raising the blood hormone levels to those either of what is known as the secretion phase of the menstrual cycle or the early stages of pregnancy. Are there health or social implications?

KS5

Another hormone, released when a woman has conceived, is human chorionic gonadotrophin (or HCG); its presence in the urine is used in pregnancy test kits.

Students should be able to understand the reaction that occurs between the hormone and the coloured monoclonal antibody complexes in the test strip.

Does the availability of pregnancy testing kits affect behaviour?