Background: Premature sexual activity has become a norm in South African society, often resulting in teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STD). Occurrence of premature sexual activity is related to insufficient education, gender inequal- ities, household poverty and place of residence. The Stepping Stones project uses a 10-session programme to educate learners about relationships, HIV-prevention and teenage pregnancy. The purpose was to measure and describe learners’ sexual knowl- edge and activities in a rural technical secondary school in North-west Province, South Africa. Methods: A cross-sectional survey. Questionnaires were distributed to learners in grade 8 to 12. Descriptive statistics was used in analysis. Results: Seventy-nine questionnaires were analysed. Despite a young sample, 26.6% were sexually active and 24.1% engaged in sexual activity. The mean age for first-time sexual intercourse was 15.2±2.3 years. The use of contraceptives was low (41.2%) and participants reported difficulty in talking to partners about condom use (54.8%). Almost half (45.5%) of the participants had never heard of STDs. Participants expressed a need to use social media as a sex education tool (12.3%). The primary source of information was from school-based programmes (58.0%). Conclusion: Findings point to unsafe sexual practice of learners at a school in rural South Africa, even from an early age. This concern is accompanied by the occurrence of low levels of sexually-related knowledge. The learners would benefit from contin- ued implementation of the Stepping Stones programme. Implementation could be improved by incorporating social media and emphasising gender equality and negotiation skills in sexually vulnerable situations. Keywords: Sexual knowledge; adolescent learners; South Africa.

A reflection on the benefits and challenges facing communities of practice for research and engagement in nursing South Africa is confronted with a quadruple burden of disease: a very high prevalence of HIV and AIDS, which has now entered a synergistic relationship with TB; maternal and child morbidity and mortality; an exploding prevalence of noncommunicable diseases, mostly driven by lifestyle risk factors; and injuries and trauma often related to violence. In response to this burden, South Africa has developed a strategic plan to overhaul the health system, including reconstruction and revitalisation of the nursing profession. This plan should ensure that our country has well-trained nurses who can contribute to addressing the health-care needs of all South Africans in order to create healthy communities. These interventions need to cover everything from prenatal and postnatal care, to the food supply and marketing chain, to the built environment, all of which promote healthy eating and active, healthy living. To achieve this, the public health