Michelle talks about power of education with UK schoolgirls

“I am here because of you. I am here because girls like you inspire me every single day. I am so proud of your passion,” Michelle told a hall packed with students at Mulberry School for Girls in Tower Hamlets, one of the most deprived boroughs in the country where more than 70 <g data-gr-id="38" style="color: #3b3b3b; font-size: 11px;">per cent</g> of the students are on free school meals.She told the students, who were mostly Muslim and of Bangladeshi origin, that their “amazing education” gave them all they needed to succeed.

She told them that, as someone who is black, female and also comes from a working-class background, she understood the need for a good education. “With an education from this amazing school you all have everything, everything you need to rise above all of the noise and fulfil every last one of your dreams.

“And it is so important that you do that, not just for yourselves but for all of us. Because you all have a unique perspective, you have a unique voice to add to the conversation,” she said, at the start of a European tour. She spoke of her own upbringing, saying at that time there were few black women in positions of power. But, she said, her parents realised education was the “ultimate key” to success and she could be successful if she worked hard in school.

“Through it all my parents fully expected us to do both: to achieve our dreams and be there for our family. And they also knew that a good education was the ultimate key to our success. My parents told me every day I could do anything. I could grow up to be a doctor, a lawyer a scientist, whatever, but only if I worked as hard as I could to succeed in school,” she said.

The 51-year-old US First Lady said 62 million girls around the world did not attend school due to several factors including forced marriages, early pregnancies, abuse and sexism. She also launched the ‘Let Girls Learn’ initiative to boost education globally for adolescent girls.

Writing in the Financial Times, she said the UK and US would work together on teacher training, girls’ leadership camps and other community-based programmes in developing countries. “Combined, these efforts total nearly $200 million,” she said.

Earlier, Prince Harry hosted Michelle for tea at Kensington Palace, where they discussed their shared interest in support for veterans and their families.

She later visited Downing Street for tea with Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha.