First Lady Obama Moved by School Visit

An emotional First Lady Michelle Obama told schoolgirls in London that the world needs strong young women to pave the way for the future. Mrs. Obama was close to tears as she addressed the excited crowd at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School in Islington, north London.

Her visit to the north London school was greeted with much excitement by pupils and she sat smiling, riveted, as a student lead the school's junior choir in a performance of the Whitney Houston hit Believe. The student was congratulated with a high-five by the first lady. Michelle Obama, a mother of two girls herself, smiled and watched intently throughout the other performances, which also included a modern-day staging of The Tempest, and a presentation on the school's new Learning To Lead scheme.

As she addressed the crowd, Mrs. Obama choked up, saying: "Wow. I can't follow that. Let me tell you, I am just very touched and moved by all of you."

In a brief speech to about 100 students she spoke of her working class upbringing in the South Side of Chicago, saying she was "an example of what is possible when girls from the very beginning of their lives are loved and nurtured by people around them".

She told them that she was surrounded by extraordinary women in her life who taught her about quiet strength and dignity. And that they too can control their destiny. She told them: "We are counting on every single one of you to be the best that you can be."