A teenager who believes young people should teach each other sex education has launched a campaign to improve it in schools.

Shereece Lee, who works for Skills Factory in Oaklands Park Avenue, Ilford, formerly the Young Peoples’ Project, insists pupils do not feel comfortable when teachers talk about sex and thinks her approach is more likely to get the message across.

The 18-year-old visits schools in Redbridge, Havering, Barking and Dagenham and Newham giving talks and holding group discussions about sex and relationships in her role as a peer educator.

She said: “I’ve been teaching for a year and young people feel more comfortable about coming to me and other team members for advice and guidance.

“There are less barriers because we are of a similar age and can relate to them.

“It doesn’t work when it is taught by 60-year-old art teachers.

“I would never go up to a teacher and ask about sex because how could you go into the class the next day?

“Also what about when they meet your parents at parents evening?

“With external people coming in you don’t see them every time you go round the corridor.”

Shereece’s campaign is called Lets Talk About Sex and her journey will be broadcast on Channel 4 in September after she was selected as one of six campaigners to feature on youth programme Battlefront.

She will be followed for six months and will ask pupils to complete before and after surveys to find out how effective they think her classes are.

She will be helped by mentors and a team from Battlefront in her bid to make a change.

In July she went to one-day music event T4 on the Beach and interviewed celebrities including Jason Derulo about sex education.

“Everyone agreed that what I am doing is positive and would benefit the nation,” she said.

Earlier in the year, Shereece, of Newham, won the title of Miss Teen East London in the Miss Teen Galaxy 2011 pageant.